Rescue Me
by Tbonechick2011
Summary: I'M BACK! And so is Naru and Mai! They're back in England! But what happens when they get a surprise visitor and finds themselves spiraling into a new adventure? Can Mai save the man she loves and find the true meaning of her dreams? The story continues.
1. England

The cold breeze brushed my hair out of my eyes, sending shivers down my spine. Taking a deep breath in, I closed my eyes and focused all of my might into my clasped hands in the best formation I had created. Clearing my throat, I muttered the incantation I had been taught. There was a ghostly whisper that frightened me enough to open my eyes.

White eyes bore into mine and I couldn't help my cry out in fear as memories of Urado's mansion flashed through my mind. It's cold hand reached out for me as I stumbled back and tripped, landing on my butt.

All the lights flashed on as the ghoul disappeared. I groaned and ran my fingers through my hair.

"You did it again Mai." A rather familiar male voice sighed over the head piece I wore.

I looked over at the glass where Lin, Naru and Martin were sitting safely behind.

"Come on in and settle down for a bit." Martin spoke. "We'll run the simulator through a couple of tests before we send you in again."

I let out a silent sigh and nodded my head. "Hai."

I picked myself up off the ground and brushed my clothes off. Stupid simulator. Why did I have to be the testing subject? The projector that produced the image of the ghoul slowly whirred down and finally shut itself off. The damn thing had looked so real!

I found the door that led me to the observation room. Martin and Naru were watching the video again while Lin paid close attention to his lap top.

"You would've had it Mai had you not freaked out again." Naru scolded from the corner as I tried to make a quick escape. I looked down at the door handle that my hand had rested on and sighed.

"I know."

Naru swiveled his chair to give me the death glare he was so well known for. I felt it pin me to the door and refuse to let me leave for now.

"You would be more focused had your life depended on it."

"Son," Martin cut in to stop a fight that I'm sure would've broken out. He gave me a warm smile. "It's fine Mai, we'll try it again later, okay?"

I nodded my head and slipped out the door before they decided to add onto my pressure. Stairs angrily glared at me and I couldn't help but sigh heavily before I proceeded to climb the steps. Why did it have to be in the basement?

I finally got to the door and found it already open with a worried Madoka and Luella waiting on me. Both of the beautiful women were wearing frowns on their faces and had their hands on their hips.

"So, that's where the guys took off with you so early this morning? Poor Mai!"

And before I knew it, Luella had her hands around me and squeezing me hard. I was instantly pulled out of Luella's hug and grasped into Madoka's hug. It wasn't as hard as it had been, but it still took my breath away.

"Did they do anything mean to you? I'm gonna kill them if they hurt your feelings! Those insensitive men!" Madoka cried.

I pushed out of their tight grips and shook my head tiredly.

"No, they didn't do anything. Just running the stimulator again, that's all." I stretched and plopped myself on the kitchen chair and looked around the some-what familiar place to me. It was almost as if the Oliver's house had become my second home during the summer.

Naru had decided that as soon as my school let out for the summer that it would be best if he returned home to visit his family again. But I think Luella threatened him to bring me along since we were together now. Just the very thought of me being with Naru brought a smile to myself. It had been only a month ago and things were running as smoothly as they could.

"Well," Luella started, interrupting my thoughts. "I believe we need to rescue you. Let's go shopping!"

Madoka was nodding enthusiastically behind her brunette friend.

"Yes Mai, let's at least get you out of the house!"

I looked worriedly at the door to the basement again and debated. How mad would they be if I just snuck off without them? The two mischievous women must've noticed my nervous glances because before I knew it, I was being dragged to my feet and out the door in a flash.

"Wait!" I cried and tried to break away.

"No more! We'll go to the park if we have to, but you're getting a break!" Luella snapped and I knew her decision was made as the metal gate slammed shut behind us.

'_Oh god s, Naru is gonna kill me!'_

And not even five minutes later, my cell phone began to ring. I gave the two women a glance but they just smiled as Luella held her hand out. I pulled it out and found Naru's number on the screen. I cringed at the thought of his angry voice and reluctantly answered it.

"Hello?"

"Mai, where the hell did you go? We're ready to run the tests again." An angry voice snapped at me.

Luella frowned, obviously hearing what Naru said and snatched the phone away from me.

She started having a conversation with him in English. I still wish I had taken that English class I was offered at the beginning of the school year. Luella snapped the phone shut and smiled triumphantly as she handed it back to me. Shaking my head I let out a small sigh.

"And what did cranky pants say?"

Smiling to herself she brushed the hair away from her eyes.

"He said you can have the day off!"

I raised an eyebrow and studied the woman's face. She was lying, that much I did know, but I wasn't about to press any further for details. Sometimes, it was best to just stay ignorant.

The warm summer breeze kissed my bare arms as we walked down the pavement towards the park. Birds were chirping happily in the afternoon sun as they fluttered in between trees chasing one another. Madoka said something to Luella and took off towards an ice cream stand. Luella laced her arm around mine and led me to a bench that sat under a large oak tree and folded a leg underneath her as she sat.

"Isn't it great out here today?" She asked as she looked around the busy park full of children and families laughing. Music from a guitar player echoed through the trees. I couldn't help but to look around. It was so full of life so cheerful. The feeling was rather contagious.

Madoka came back with three large ice cream cones in her hands and handed one to Luella and myself. I took it happily and licked the sweet coldness.

"It's really good." I commented before taking another lick.

"It should be. Its home made. And I paid a lot of money for it." Madoka crinkled her nose at the thought of her losing the money.

Luella laughed and took a bite out of hers. "Madoka, why did you buy it then if you thought it was expensive?"

"Because I can afford it. Now shut up and eat. Now Mai," Madoka turned her attention to me. "What is it that the guys are having you do down in the basement? I know it's the stimulator and all, but I wanna know what they're up to."

"I think they're trying to see if I actually have any paranormal abilities other than astral projection. They keep having me try to use the protection mantra that Monk taught me to 'get rid of' the spirit. But for some reason, I can't seem to get rid of it."

Luella's smile fell a little bit.

"It seems like they're trying to prepare you to go out in the world on your own or something. Tell me Mai, what are your plans after high school?"

I sighed and leaned back in the bench, thinking. What was I going to do? Did I want to leave the SPR? After all that we had been through? I don't think I would find a job I enjoyed even better. Slowly I shook my head.

"I still want to go to college, but I don't think I'd want to stop working for Naru honestly."

Madoka and Luella shot each other a grin and nodded their heads in approval.

"Really? I would be sick of working for Naru by now." Madoka teased. "He can be such a pain."

I shrugged. "Well, I just know how to deal with him by now. I mean, after all we've been through together, it would be kind of pointless to leave after I graduate. Besides, he's helped me realize more opportunities in life other than what I've been offered."

"Well, that's good. It means that you won't be stuck with doing something you don't enjoy for the rest of your life, like working as an assistant with a jerk for your boss." Luella frowned. "Oh wait, you already do."

The three of us giggled and finished up the rest of our ice creams before they collapsed on our hands. Luella was the first one to stand and wipe her hands clean on a napkin.

"Well, I think it's best if we head back before the boys send out a search team." She commented.

The two of us nodded and stood from our comfortable spot on the bench. Luella and Madoka linked arms with me and we headed back to the mansion with a bounce in our steps. It was good to be back in England with the Davis family. It made me feel a little at home. But as we reached the gates, the two ladies jerked me to a stop, both of them with their eyes wide as they gaped at who was in front of us.

It was an older female version of Naru and Gene. Her black hair was long and pulled into a strict bun. Piercing blue eyes glared at us from underneath her short bangs and not a single sign of smiling showed. Luella and the strange woman opened their mouths to say something, but we heard the door open and shut followed by Naru's voice.

"Mother?"

Both of the ladies turned at the same time to answer him.

A/N: HELLO EVERYONE! I'M BACK! I missed you all. I'm really sorry it took me so long to update. I had a lot of stuff happening and all! But now that school is FINALLY winding down, I'll be able to get a chance to attend to stories and my lovely, faithful readers such as yourselves. You have no idea how much I've missed you guys. Especially my cookie givers. Lolz. Uh, yeah. This chapter? I have honestly no idea where I'm going with this story. Poo, right? Okay, let me rephrase this: I have a semi-idea as to where the story will head. But I'm warning you now, updates may take a while. So, what's going on with you all? My brother is graduating this Saturday! Yeah! And then I'll be a senior next year! I'm a major band geek that signed up for Band, Jazz Band, and AP Music theory and AP Lit, Pre AP Chem, Algebra III and Art I. Believe it or not, I signed up for ART! Yeah! Now I'll spend four weeks drawing my hand. Ugh… So, give me updates, I wanna know what you think, how you are, and all that fun stuff. I'm gonna try to do a Sherlock Holmes fanfic as well, but I don't know how soon I'm gonna get that up. So, cookies are awesome, but Llamas are awesome! :D If any of you guys make AMVs, I have a proposition for you. Hint hint… But tell me what you think- AND BE FREAKIN' HONEST!

Love forever more,

Jazzy


	2. An unwanted visitor

I sat on the familiar bed that I had once resided in six months ago with my legs folded under me. I scribbled down angrily in my journal and slammed it shut. I wanted to hit something, but I knew that it wasn't going to do me any good.

'_Why is that woman here?' _I thought angrily.

She defiantly wasn't nice. That was for sure. Not with the attitude she had. She was a beautiful Japanese woman, but very strict and heartless as far as I was concerned.

_The woman turned back and faced Luella and Madoka and spoke to them in English. Feeling a little out of place, I backed away from them as confusion swept over everybody else. Lin quickly turned back in the house and I heard him call for Martin. In seconds, everyone was moving inside, everyone but Naru. He stood on the porch, and watched the woman. I quietly approached him and set a comforting hand on his arm. For once, I could see many emotions sweeping through him, but I couldn't find the right words to describe them. He set a hand over mine and moved me behind him slightly._

"_Naru…"_

_The woman stopped when she was in front of Naru. I felt like they stood there for the longest time before she spoke._

"_Oliver. I hope we can establish an alliance between each other. Had I known that you were using a cover in Japan, I might have looked you up." She gave him a cold smile._

_But Naru was unmovable._

"_No, I don't think you would have. For our sake, it might've been the best way."_

_Her smile dropped instantly and was replaced by a weaker one. Black bangs feel into her dark blue eyes as she gave him a rather cold look. One that was identical to his._

"_No, I wouldn't have. And it would have been the best ways. We'll talk about this with your family away from prying ears."_

_Her cold look turned to me as Naru placed himself in front of me. I peered from behind his arm._

"_She's not prying ears. She's my _invited _guest and you will treat her like so. If I can recall correctly, you were not indeed invited to my home."_

"_I see, you're even rude and ungrateful like the brat that you were raised to be."_

_I felt my anger flare as Luella and Martin stepped back outside when they realized that we had not followed them in. The woman turned around, plastering a fake smile on for the two and followed them in as she began to speak English to them. Naru held my hand and silently led me inside the house. But, as we got close to Luella's study, he stopped and turned around. He held my hand before resting the other hand gently on my cheek._

"_Mai, you need to find something to entertain yourself for a while. I don't think we'll be out of the office for a while. Go write in your journal. Feel free to go to the lake, something."_

"_But Naru-"_

_His stern gaze cut me off and I knew he was serious. I let his hand go and stepped away from him, giving him an assuring nod._

"_Okay."_

"_Good. I'll find you when we're done, then we'll go out for a bit."_

"_Alright."_

_I turned and left him at the office door as I made my way to the kitchen. I heard quiet whispering and rounded the corner to find Lin and Madoka. Lin's tall frame was leaning against the countertop, next to Madoka who was perched on top of the counter. Her face was full of worry as she sucked down the glass of water in her hand. Both of them turned their attention to me and Madoka was up in an instant._

"_What did she say to you?" _

_Her eyes were completely unmoving as she held my shoulders and stared into what felt like my soul. I shook my head and sighed._

"_Nothing nice. She's bull headed and selfish. And she's defiantly not here for a reunion. And it didn't help that Naru and I didn't make a great first impression."_

_Lin sighed and rubbed his temples. _

"_This isn't going to go well. Mai, did she say anything else?" Lin asked._

_I shrugged._

"_She knew what his cover name was."_

"_She must have been planning this for some time." Lin stated immediately._

"_Surely she wouldn't take him back?" I asked with a sinking heart. _

"_No, she can't. He's an adult. But she wants him for something."_

_Both of them stopped and gave each other a rather disturbed glance. Madoka let her hands fall away from my arms and turned back to Lin and rested her head on his shoulder. He placed a comforting hand on her back and I decided to take my leave. _

Finally losing all of my patience, I rolled off of my bed and left my room in a hurry. I hurried away from the room that had captivated me for so long and down the stairwell as fast as I could without causing to much of a commotion to disturb them. I passed the kitchen and to the door that led me out back into the blooming garden. But I didn't stop at the pavilion and rushed past Madoka and Lin. Both of them watched me as I rushed out of the gate and towards the lake. A place of escape.

"Mai!" Madoka called after me, but I ignored it as I pressed on down the familiar path. I broke through the long branches and the dense leaves and the clear blue lake gleamed at me and called to my attention.

There was a large rock slab that had been used as a bench whenever Naru and I had visited the magnificent view. I sat down softly and pulled a knee up close to my chest as I found my thoughts drifting everywhere.

'_Would he really go back with her? After the past eighteen years? She's abandoned him and Gene. Is it even legal for her to have any contact with them?'_

Letting out another short sigh I stretched my arms out and laid flat on the rock to look up into the blue sky. I set my hands behind my head and soon felt myself drift off to sleep.

_It was happening again. I could feel my heart beat against my chest as I pushed my legs even harder, but I had no idea where I was going. _

"_Gene! Naru!" _

_No answer. Just the echo of my voice filled the absolute darkness. I couldn't see anything or anyone that would help me._

"_GENE! NARU!"_

_I felt something grab onto my arm. Panicking as I twirled around to face my attacker, a blood curling scream shattered the silence._

"_Wake up Mai."_

I slowly opened my eyes and found that the sun was shadowed away from my view. My eyes started to slowly focus in on the face of my beautiful narcissistic boyfriend. A small smile played on my lips until I noted the slight stress in his eyes.

"You had that dream again, didn't you?"

He helped me sit up and let me lean into him for a bit. I tried to shake it off.

"A little bit of it."

"Don't be modest Mai. Now's not the greatest of times to do so."

"Oh."

I looked guilty down at my feet and let them swing back and forth.

"Is she really mean?" I asked, hoping to change topics.

Naru was silent as he focused intently on the lake. I could tell his mind was wondering all over the place. But he was completely frustrated.

"She's a cold woman."

"You wanna talk about it?"

His cold gaze was absolutely unmoving as he grew silent again. I couldn't keep looking at him as long as I had wanted to. It broke my heart in many ways.

"I'm gonna take a stab and say she knew about Gene?"

"You know," he snapped suddenly. "if I had wanted you to know about her, I would've said something Mai."

I cringed away from him and his sudden outburst and looked down guilty. I bit my bottom lip and stood.

"Sorry."

I turned on my heel and started to walk away but I felt a hand tug on my wrist. I turned back around and saw Naru holding on tightly to my wrist. His hand fell to his side as his unmoving eyes studied me.

"We still have yet to figure out what your dreams mean, Mai. Don't forget that either."

I sighed.

"It isn't that important anyways. Not as important as to what is happening right now."

His eyes hardened for a little bit.

"What's happening right now shouldn't stop us from moving on."

"But it should!" I argued again. Right now, my problems could wait. "My dreams are nothing compared to what you're going through right now."

"You need to stop concerning yourself with my problems Mai. That just seems to be the problem with you."

"It's your mother, Naru!"

His eyes flashed as he grabbed my wrists again and pulled me in close. I could feel the anger seething from him.

"That woman is NOT my mother. Do you think that if she was my mother, she wouldn't have left me or Gene? If she was my mother, she would've been there for us. The only thing she is to me is the woman who gave birth to me and my brother. Then she dumped us. That's all."

I shifted uncomfortably under his angry glare and suddenly decided that my shoes needed my gaze. I sighed in as his grip on me lessened.

"Did she at least give you her name?"

A dark look crossed his face when I mentioned her again.

"Yes. Sakkara Fumio. She owns a large company in America and runs it from Japan. But she's a powerful woman."

His grip dropped again as he looked back over the lake again. I reached out gently and touched his arm.

"What does she want with you?"

He shrugged.

"I don't really know what she wants. Nor do I care."

"So she's gonna come back then, isn't she?"

He was silent again and I dared approach his side. He slipped his arm over my shoulder and pulled me in closer to him and leaned his head on top of mine.

"I'm sorry."

"You should be." I teased slightly. "Not many assistants like me come around."

He smirked. His arm dropped from around my shoulder as he started walking away.

"Not many girls like you come around Mai." A blush began to form slightly but quickly left when he spoke again. "They all can't add up to your recklessness and stupidity."

I stopped and felt my mouth drop open.

"Y-you stupid narcissist!" I screeched before running after him.

When I caught up with him, we were already back through the gate. Luella and Martin were waiting in the garden for the both of us with un-readable expressions on their faces. I couldn't tell if they were nervous or scared.

"Son, we have a new case." Luella started.

"And Ms. Fumio would like to join us." Martin finished.

We both stopped in our path and I felt my heart drop about thirty stories. This could not really be happening.

A/N: Oh my goodness everybody. I'm sure this chapter just flat out sucks! I really had to push myself to get through it, honestly. And I'm still not happy with it. So much has happened since I last posted. So, we'll start with the BEST NEWS EVER! (Actually, three tie for first)

One: Our lovely Lee Lee and I tried out for Drum Majors for our marching band. Lee made it! :)

Two: My brother graduated High School last Saturday!

Three: Friday is my last day of school! Yeah!

But unfortuneatly, I've been bickering with someone I had considered as a sister, and she basically threw my friendship out of the window and insulted my twin. And NO ONE does that. She was lucky that a teacher was nearby when this started or I would've beaten her face into the wall. I mean, you don't insult the people I love. So of course, reading your comments makes me a happy person and makes me feel a lot better about myself. You guys are my form of managing with my problems and I appreciate you guys.

Also, we're gonna have shoutouts to the first of my reviewers! 15 reviewers too! :P Tehe… So with out further ado,

THANK YOU TO: southern-punk (I missed you my deary!), Krisaku (your question has been answered! :P) Flamegirl5500 (thank you for the homecoming greeting! I love how you've been with me from the beginning! It makes me feel special!) xSaphirexRosesxFanx (Oh yes, the girls just beg to get into trouble!), aniAngelxx (Why yes, a collection is absolutely wonderful! Thanks for adding me!), sweetymai90 (I LOVE YOU TOO!), mia-chan (so sorry this wasn't soon enough), WrittenPages (I hope this was good! I like your username too!), cameo107 (Haha, I think someone missed me a little.), JadeStarlight (thanks for understanding my dear! That's what I love about you!) sarasaysrawr (I plan on a lot more happening! Thanks for the review) My dear friend crazylittlecheezer (More is on the way, I promise, but someone owes me a picture. *coughcough* No pressure or anything. Just a waiting sweetness! :D ) Jadeturttle, (It's gonna get even better! I promise!), Clippedwing/Akemi (I know about exams. They suck! I have my last one over Ecology! Good luck dear! I heart you!) FallenRaindrops (oh yeah, the drama is about to explode on top of a brand new case! It's wonderful, isn't it?)

So anyways, while you guys wait for my updates, I must say you should try reading a story on Ghost Hunt called Whitechapel Case by Fox Trot 9 or SPR on Hiatus by mistress ClippedWing! Those are my recommendations for the week! I'll try not to abuse you guys anymore since school is coming to a close, and hopefully I can overcome my writer's blockage. It suck really. But read and review, and tell me what you think! (If you have ideas, I'd be happy to take them!)

Love forever and always,

Jazzy

(p.s. Lee will help me next time this comes around, I promise, I know how much you love her!)


	3. Returning Home

"Do you have everything?" Luella bent over my shoulder as I finished packing the last on my bags.

I knew that we were gonna get a case with the Davis's while we were on break with them, but had I known we were gonna have to go back to Japan only a week into our visit, I wouldn't have left in the first place. It was Sakkara who hired us and wanted us to come back to Japan as soon as possible.

I had already made contact with the other members of SPR and they had agreed to meet us at the airport as soon as we got there and drive out to the country side mansion. It would be close to five at night by the time we'd get to the airport in Tokyo. I did not look forward to a full twelve hours on the plane but at least I'd be sitting with Madoka. I couldn't decide if it was a good thing or not depending on her mood.

I sighed as I pulled my case off the bed but it was instantly retrieved by one of the Davis's assistant. Luella put a hand on my shoulder and turned me to face her. The beautiful woman's face was tired and weary. We all were tired and weary. Who wouldn't be at four in the morning.

"Mai, I know that this next case probably won't be easy on anyone, especially if our employer is Sakkara Fumio. She's a really gonna be hard for us to deal with, that much I can already tell you."

I nodded my head as she laced her arm with mine.

"Come dear, let us be off. Perhaps on the way I can teach you a little English. I mean, that's if you aren't too busy."

"What?"

She dragged me out of my room and down the darkened hall of the mansion. It was so creepy at four in the morning with little light to see our way around the house. Madoka stood by the door giving directions to which bag that belongs in which car. She held a cup of coffee in her hand and took a small sip before looking up towards the staircase.

"Hurry up you two. The boys are getting antsy and driving me crazy."

"Let's go Luella!" Martin called in to the house from the porch.

Luella's usually bright and cheerful face was now dark and stormy. She growled as she pulled me down the steps muttering the entire way grumpily.

"He knows I'm not a morning person and I'm not to be rushed when I'm tired. Stupid man couldn't book a later flight. Next time I'll take care of it myself. Never ask a man to do a simple job ever again. They only make your life more difficult. Stupid man."

"Quit your gripping woman!" Martin yelled back up the stair with a rather playful smirk on his face.

_Oh boy. He just pushed his luck._

Luella's glare turned darker as she pushed past him and out the door.

"Maybe you should check to see if you booked the flight at four thirty p.m instead of a.m next time you old geezer."

He chuckled and followed her out the door.

"Wow, you really need a nap on the way."

Luella gave him a hard glare before she slipped into one of the dark cars. I followed in behind her and Madoka slipped right in before Martin could. A frown grew across Martin's face as he crossed his arms. Madoka smirked and shut the door, then proceeded to roll the window down.

"Sorry Martin," She apologized before Luella cut in.

"This is the fun-v. And you were not invited. Get in your rental car."

He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms before he spoke to me.

"Mai, don't let them bore you to tears. They tend to do that when they're sleeping."

Luella shot the man a rather darker look than before.

"Do we have all of our equipment packed?" Lin asked as he approached Martin.

"Yes, we do. Noll's doing a run through in the basement, so we'll be ready to roll as soon as he's here."

"Great. You men rush us, but now we are waiting on you." Luella replied sarcastically.

"Luella, you know Oliver. He does stuff last minute all the time-"

"Yep, which is why we're going."

She turned to the driver of the car and gave him directions. Both her and Madoka waved out of the window as the car sped away. A cross look appeared on the guys' faces but the two women turned back and leaned in the seats.

"Where are we going?"

"To the airport. We're going early so we have time to get a decent breakfast at one of their cafés."

It was silent and still dark outside. The streets of England were lit by the road side lamps and the streets were as empty as could be. There were a few cars that passed but as far as it was concerned, they were dead. Not long, I heard the soft snore of Madoka.

"Luella?"

"Hmmm?"

"Can Naru's mom take him back?"

There was a long period of silence that passed between us. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat and glanced out the darkened windows. The sun still was not coming up any time soon.

"She can't. He's the legal age of an adult and adults can't be adopted."

I breathed out a sigh of relief and leaned against my seat comfortably.

"But I was afraid she was going to try to take him away Mai. I can't lose another son. Not after all that he's been through. I hate that woman."

"Then why did you accept the case?"

She hesitated before she carefully picked out her words.

"Because she needs help weather she knows it or not. This woman is blind to what is going on at her house though she does contain strong paranormal abilities."

"But she can't take care of the spirit by herself?"

"No. She doesn't have the proper training to take care of any spirits. She knows enough to hide what she has. It's dangerous for her to use the ability ignorantly, so that's why she came to us."

"Because we're the only team in the entire world, right?" I asked sarcastically.

"No, because we're the best at what we do."

I shifted in the familiar seat of the airplane next to Luella and tried to get comfortable. We were already an hour into our flight and much to my dismay, neither of us were asleep yet. The lights were dimmed and the mood set right for sleep, but I couldn't sleep if I had wanted to. Luella busied herself with a note book in her lap as she wrote something out on the paper. She stopped with a rather nasty frown on her face before she ripped the paper out of the notebook, crumpled it up in a ball and threw it behind her shoulder. We both heard it land perfectly in Martin's lap.

"Woman, if you want to talk to me, you need to turn around."

She turned around and snapped at him in English. I gave her a funny look but she brushed it aside as Martin slowly pulled at the wad of paper. Luella grinned and turned back to me.

"So Mai, Noll's been telling me that you're having strange dreams, is that correct?"

I frowned and silently cursed Naru's name. We may be together, but it was the last thing he needed to worry about.

"Yeah, it's right. The same one every time. But I don't have them when I'm at your house."

"But you had one while you were at the lake yesterday."

I nodded.

"I know I did. But the only reason why I had it at the lake was because I wasn't inside the boundary that Naru had set up for me the last time I was here."

"Right the wards. I remember that. So we know one thing from this."

"And that is?"

"You're astral projection is taking a different turn."

I shifted in my seat so I could look her square in the face.

"What do you mean?"

"It means, Mai, that you're dr-"

A paper ball flew over the back of her seat and hit her head. She shot a glare at her chuckling husband as she retrieved the note. She continued as she wrote a response on the crumpled up sheet.

"As I was saying before, it's something different because I don't think Noll has ever told me of an instance where your dreams repeat themselves. It's important that you pay attention to the details of your dreams." She tossed the note over her shoulder and continued. "Your dreams don't happen for a reason, and it's obviously just not a coincidental nightmare, that much I'm assured. But it could also mean that a spirit is trying to reach out to you for help."

"But can a spirit be that strong? I've started having these dreams for a while now, and I started having them in Japan."

"But now that the dream has been implanted with you for a long time, you'll be re-experiencing it until the spirit wants you to see more. Which has led me to another question: Did the spirit ever finish its vision? Or did it show you all it needed to?"

I leaned back in my seat and ran my fingers through my hair. This was going to be messy and rather stressful. The last thing I needed was a spirit attached to me because it thought I could save it. I could but it wouldn't be easy. I had no clue who it is or what even happened to them. I was defenseless…

'_Defenseless? That was the whole point of Naru's and Martin's stimulator. To test my defense. Did they know?'_

I glanced behind my shoulder at Naru who was too engulfed in his book. The paper ball flew over Luella's shoulder and landed perfectly in her lap. Shaking my head, I leaned back in my chair and found myself drifting off to sleep.

The terminal was packed with busy people toting their suitcases all over the place. Most of them were in formal wear for business and there were a lot of families with crying kids. When we broke through the worse of the mess, Naru and I began to scan the lobby for signs of Monk and Ayako. It wasn't hard to miss the tall red headed woman as she delivered a blow to Monk's head with her purse. Naru sighed and rolled his eyes as we stepped onto the escalator.

"Leave it to those two to make fools out of themselves." He muttered under his breath.

Luella shot me a questioning glance.

"Those two work with us. The long haired guy is Houshou Takigawa and the red head is Matsuzki Ayako."

"What do they do?" Martin asked Naru.

"Nothing."

"Naru!" I scolded. "Don't be too hard on them. Bou-san is a monk and Ayako is a priestess."

We stepped off of the escalator and pushed our way through a thick crowd of tourists as we tried to reach Monk and Ayako.

"Mai!" The bear of a man instantly engulfed me into a breath-taking hug. I squirmed and tried to breath, but it was to no avail. "I missed you soooo much! Life is terribly boring without you in Japan!"

"Let her go you great oaf!" Ayako snapped.

I was instantly released. I stepped back before he could capture me again. Ayako cleared her throat as she noticed the two new faces and looked questioningly at Madoka.

"Oh, I didn't tell you, did I? Ayako, Monk, this is Naru's parents, Luella and Martin Davis. They're gonna help us out on the case."

"It's nice to meet you two at last."

Ayako and Monk traded handshakes with them.

"So, are we heading to the office first?" Monk asked.

"Yes. We need to get more equipment and we need to return home to pack. We'll meet up tomorrow morning at six and head out together."

"Alright." Monk nodded his head. "I got a hold of the others and they all said they could make it."

"Good. We'll need as many people as we can get. Monk, you'll have to take Mai and Madoka with you, our car will not have enough room."

"Aye aye captain!"

Monk saluted him and turned to Madoka and I with a rather evil glint in his eyes that made me slightly nervous.

"Come on, let's leave him and party!"

"Oh shut up." Ayako scolded before she turned back to Naru.

"Do you need help getting the rest of your equipment?"

He shook his head.

"We didn't bring a lot to begin with. Go ahead and we'll meet you there."

"Okay."

The four of us turned to leave when Naru called out to me.

"And Mai, have some tea ready."

I stopped and took a deep breath in as Monk started laughing.

"Patience is a virtue."

I shot him a dirty glare.

"Silence is golden." I snapped back.

"And duct tape is silver!" Madoka cried out cheerfully.

Oh Gods, it was going to be a long case indeed.

A/N: I'm so sorry it took me long to update! I thought I would have a lot of time to write once I was on break, but I had a bad case of writer's block that it just flat out sucked. This chapter is mostly dialogue and informational and probably boring as heck. But I think it is time to bring back someone you all are familiar with. Lee?

Lee: HIIIIIII!

Me: Okay Lee Lee, tell them.

Lee *blank look*: Tell them what?

Me *hits forehead*: You know what..

Lee *lightbulb flashes on*: OH! The thingy right?

Me *sighs*: Yes the thingy. Dork.

Lee: Okay, well, Jazzy doesn't own Ghost Hunt-

Me: NO!

Lee: What then?

Me: Never mind, I'll do it myself.

Lee: Okay dokey!

Me: Last time in my a/n's you all got to ask us questions and we'd give you answers. Since Lee is driving me insane, please ask her really hard questions in order for her to think so long I might get some silence.

Lee: OH! THAT thingy! Yesh, ask me away! :P Anyways, I'm too hyped up for the summer! It's gonna be interesting though.

Me: Yeah, interesting is the word to use. Both good and bad. So anyways…

Lee: Did you forget something as well Jazzy?

Me: NO, I just hadn't gotten to the next thing on my agenda. I would like to give a special thank you to crazylittlecheezer for drawing lovely fan art for my stories! The link to the pictures is going to be up on my page, so check it out! And that about sums it up. So Lee, will you do the pleasure?

Lee: Yep yep! Read and Review please! That pretty button isn't pretty for just ANY reason. Tehehe.

Me: ignore the bumbling idiot please. But yes, please review. They make me happy and diminish writer's blocks sometimes. The ideas I get are great.

Lee: Yep yep! So don't forget to feed your Fatwolf and love your Jazzy

Love for ever and always no matter what,

Jazzy and Lee.


	4. Attack of the Killer Closet

SPR Office

5:52 P.M.

June

I was pouring the final cup of tea when I heard the bells, alerting me that someone was here, but I already knew who it was. I could hear Luella from the entrance.

"What a cute little office!"

I tried my best not to hit my forehead. Poor Luella was amused with everything our office had contained. I placed the tea cups on the tray and made an appearance. I set the tray down on the coffee table and picked up a cup for Naru. He was already in the back with Lin, Monk and Martin, pulling the rest of the equipment together.

"Naru, I have your tea ready."

He turned away from the others and nodded.

"Good, leave it on my desk and show my mother around before she-"

There was a loud smashing sound followed by a cheerful "Ooopsies!" I bit my bottom lip and prayed that Naru wouldn't use his entire wrath on his dear mother. But from the dark look and sigh, I guess he wasn't going to attend to the matter now.

"Just go occupy her before she breaks anything else please."

I nodded my head and left the men to the organization. I stopped in at Naru's office and left the tea cup on his large, paper covered desk. I quickly slipped back out to the lobby where all three of the women were trying to contain their laughter. I frowned and observed the dirt particles that once resided in a vase. I raised a curious eyebrow at the red-faced Luella who tried to hold her laughter back. Shaking my head, I observed the dirt trail that she had made in an attempt to hide the broken vase. The trail led me to underneath the couch.

"Really? You hid it?"

She giggled and nodded her head.

"Somewhat. I'll clean it up. Where's the broom?"

I turned to the closet and opened it up, only to have boxes fall on top of me. I let out a loud cry of surprise and fell to the ground.

"Mai!"

Instantly there were arms helping me out of the disaster zone.

"Stupid boxes." I muttered as Ayako helped me stand.

"Are you okay?" The red headed woman asked. "You need to be more careful!"

"What happened?"

The four of us turned to Martin and Naru standing next to each other by the hall way. A bemused look crossed both of their faces, but then Naru's turned a little dark.

"I asked if you could show my mother around the office, Mai. Not to tear it up."

"I'm sorry! This closet must have a grudge against me!" I cried as I started to shove boxes back into it. "It's like its out to get me, no matter what." I grumbled.

"Maybe if you stacked the boxes, they wouldn't fall out on you."

"Maybe if I had help setting it up right, that wouldn't be a problem, now would it?" I snapped back as Ayako stood next to me and helped me shove the final box in and quickly shut the door.

"Before you make anymore messes, please show mother around, Mai."

I let out a sigh and nodded my head.

"You got it." As they went back to the equipment room, I turned to the mischievous women. "You guys are gonna get me in trouble!"

"Nah, Naru won't let you get in a lot of trouble. He tries to keep you out of it most of the times." Madoka informed me as she laced her arm with Luella's.

"Come, my dear Madoka, I think Mai is to show me around the office to keep it clean!"

9:47 P.M.

The office was dark and really kinda lonely after Monk took Ayako home, and Naru made Lin take his mother and Madoka to a hotel somewhere and left me to kitchen duty. I knew that Martin and Naru were in his office, reviewing the case and making notes. Or just talking. At this point, it really didn't concern me about what they were talking about, but I knew it had to do with Naru's real mother.

Sighing, I returned to washing the tea cups that I had fixed earlier in the evening.

'_His real mother is rude. It's a shame, really. I mean, she came back, but it wasn't for him. It was for her own selfish purpose. But why would she expose herself as Naru's mother? Maybe she just likes drama. There are people who love drama.'_

The tea cup fell from my hand and into the sink full of water with a loud _kerplunk! _Water splashed up from the sink and onto my shirt. I let out a frustrated sigh. This is what happens when I let my mind wander off. I left the tea cup in the sink and instantly searched for a dry towel to try and mop the mess up. After trying to get my shirt dry the best I could, I instantly turned my attention back to the stupid tea cup. I rinsed it clean of the soap and set it out to dry.

"Mai?"

Startled, I jumped and turned around quickly to find Naru and Martin in the door way. A blush crept up my face from embarrassment.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I was just finishing up before I went home."

"It's fine. Do you want to leave your bag here for the night?" Naru asked me.

"Yeah. There's really no point in bringing it home only to have to return it tomorrow again."

"Of course."

"Do you need a ride home, Mai?" Martin intervened. "It's getting late."

I glanced out of the window. Sure enough, the streets were dark and creepy. I hadn't stayed this late at work before.

"Uh, well, I would certainly hate to-"

"Let's go Mai. We're waiting on you."

Naru grabbed my arm and led me out of the kitchen and to the door without a second of hesitation.

The car ride was a little awkward in silence. I decided to break it and ask questions.

"What's the story about the case?"

"There's several strong spirits in this woman's mansion." Martin started off. "The house itself has been around as long as anyone can remember, and there are curious cases as to the previous deaths that has taken over the course of time. There's too many deaths to even pinpoint what is causing all the commotion."

Naru nodded his head and took over. "She said that she hears cries coming from the basement and screams from the attic. There will be children's laughter down the hall, loud stomping and pounding on the walls. She's had writing appear on the wall, but it's in a dead Korean Language known as Baekje. No one can understand what it means, but we're going to find out soon enough."

SPR Office

7:01 A.M.

I slipped into the car next to Yasuhara who shot me a smile that made me worry a little. It was like he knew some great big secret that I wasn't supposed to know. I shook my head and looked the other way to see Madoka slide right in next to me.

"Oh no." I groaned.

She grinned and put an arm over my shoulder.

"Oh yes! You get me and Yasu all to yourself for two whole hours!"

"Yeah! Mai-chan!" Yasu threw his hands up in the air and cheered.

I shook my head and desperately looked out of the car for help from Luella or Martin who were both busy talking to Masako and Lin about something. Monk and Ayako slipped into the front seat of the car. Monk turned around to see who he had.

"Oh no."

"What?" Ayako asked as she turned. Her beautiful face instantly dropped to a frown. "Oh great. We get you guys."

"Hey!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Why are you so mean to me Monk?"

Both of them sighed and shook their heads together.

"We might as well get going. Masako and John will catch up later. She had an appointment she couldn't miss, but they'll be behind us soon."

"Oh really?"

Madoka and I shot each other a knowing glance. Ever since the Hotel Case, I think it had finally crossed Masako's mind to give up on Naru. Since then, she and John had become a lot closer.

"Let's go! The sooner we get there, the sooner we can get this done with!" Yasu chided.

"Hold your dang horses; we gotta wait for Naru's directions, okay?"

We all looked up and saw Naru approach the car with his hands in his pockets. His expression was unreadable but I could tell he wasn't happy. Monk rolled the window down and waited for Naru.

"The client wants us to rendezvous in the town so someone can show us the way to get there."

"Okay. And what about John and Masako?"

"We'll just have to wait on them. I'll call you when we have the meeting point."

"Okay, we'll see you there then."

Naru nodded and left to the van. I was swept with concern as I watched him get in, but I didn't get a chance to voice my opinion about it because Monk took off down the road. We were on our way.

A/N: Yeah! Another chapter up! I promise, the chapters will get more and more interesting but for now, I'm trying to get my ideas concentrated on this story. I'm going to try to make this one my best story yet.

Lee: You are? You're lazy then because last time I checked in on you, you were reading Ouran High School Host Club for the third time in the row.

Me: *=_= I'm gonna kill you sweetness…

Lee: No you're not! Not after all we've been through.

Me: Ah yes, the many cold nights we spent at football games…

Lee: The germ-x was probably my favorite story of all times. Tehehehehe…

Me: Shush! No one is supposed to know about that!

Lee: Oh, that's right! You could get in serious trouble for that!

Me: YES! So we'll move onto the next topic.

Lee: Yeah. Well folksies. We have somewhat sad news.

Me: Yes, Lee and I will be at Band Camp next week all week.

Lee: Without computers to type stories on.

Me: Well, that one place does have computers, but I won't have time to type a chapter or ANYTHING! Which is why I'm going to try to do another update or two this week before I have to go.

Lee: Yes, but that's only because Jazzy is a review whore and loves reading your reviews.

Me: *throws shoe at head* SHUT UP LEE!

Lee: *ducks* Tehehe. I'm evil, I know!

Me: Don't make me embarrass you in front of my readers!

Lee: With what?

Me: Daniel. Enough said.

Lee: Oh. Okay. Well, Jazzy don't own this stuff but the plot and HER characters. As I mentioned before, she LOVES reviews, so just drop in and say hi!

Me: Yeppers! That's pretty much it!

Lee: Oh! And we've been debating on weather Jazzy is going to follow mytruthaboutlife's example and make a page on Facebook so you guys can share your fan art that we've been receiving. I think it's really cool.

Me: It's great with all the pictures you guys make! I love them and your support, feedback is essential to my success! :P Well, until next time my dears!

Love forever and always,

Jazzy


	5. Arrival

12:21 P.M.

I leaned against the railing and looked over the vast ocean. A cool breeze picked up and brushed my hair out of my face as water droplets kissed my face. We were still waiting on Masako and John and the person who was going to lead us to the house, wherever it was. Someone joined me and leaned against the rail as well. I could only assume it was Naru because the others were in the gas station that we were parked at.

"It's so calm." I said.

Naru nodded his head in agreement. I gently leaned my head on his shoulder and watched the waves crash against the rocks. We were both really silent.

"Are you going to be okay? We can just tell her that you got sick and couldn't accompany us."

Naru snorted and shook his head.

"Mai, if only things like this were so simple and illogical."

I sighed.

"Well, it was worth a try."

"I'm not going to run from her."

"I didn't call it running. I'm calling it: 'Not ready'."

We both grew silent as we continued to watch the waves. The waves were so mesmerizing, so peaceful. I suddenly stiffened as my hands gripped tightly on the rail and something started to draw me closer to the body of water.

"Mai?" Naru's voice sounded from the background but I couldn't respond.

Everything seemed as if it had slowed down as I felt myself lean over the railings.

"Mai!"

Hands grabbed my shoulders and pulled me away from the railing quickly. Everything sped back up into present time as I realized I was on the ground. I looked around confused and dazed. Naru's eyes were searching me for an answer. I was now defiantly confused.

"What happened?" He asked.

I ran my hand through my hair and shook my head.

"I-I don't know. One minute, we're talking and the next, I'm on the ground."

Naru furrowed his eyebrows together and looked back behind him towards the ocean.

"Noll! Mai! Are you guys okay?"

Luella and Martin were instantly at our side.

"What happened?" Luella asked frantically as she pushed Naru away and checked me for any cuts or anything.

"We don't know." Naru answered. "We were talking and when we grew silent it seemed as if she was being possessed by something."

"That's odd." Martin spoke as Luella helped me up off the ground and dusted me off. "We're nowhere near the mansion."

Luella and Martin shared a look with Naru before they spoke in English. Shaking my head, I glanced back over towards the ocean and took a step away from it like it was the plague. I turned back towards the cars and noticed that John and Masako had just pulled in. I turned back to Naru and his parents.

"They're here!"

They all turned just in time to see the rest of the team come out from the gas station and another car pulling it. Naru said something to his parents and they proceeded to follow him back to the gas station. A hand grabbed onto my arm and I was swung around to face Naru.

"Mai, mother agreed to switch car seats with you if you wanted to ride with me."

I gave him a puzzling look.

"Why?"

His dark eyes pierced into me to make sure I was okay still and it suddenly clicked.

"I might remember what happened and you want me to tell you as soon as I remember, right?"

He shrugged.

"That or you fall asleep and have that dream."

I raised an eyebrow and crossed my arms questionably as I confronted my boyfriend and boss about it.

"Just face it, you're concerned about me and you don't know how to come out with it."

He smirked and slipped his hands into the pockets of his black pants.

"More or less. Come on Mai, we'll be late if we don't get moving."

I frowned and rested my hands on my hips.

"'More or less'? What's that supposed to mean? Naru!"

I growled and chased after him.

The car ride was really quiet between Naru and Lin and Martin was engrossed in a brown book. It reminded me too much of a certain narcissist that I knew. The guy that was driving the guide car was a reckless driver and made me a worried mess. I hope he didn't get hit on our way over there. We'd be late, Naru would be pissed beyond belief and the driver and someone else would get hurt or worse.

But it was before too long when the town turned into country side. The road we followed stuck close to the ocean but I tried to not get transfixed by it again.

"So," I started awkwardly, trying to break the silence. "Do any of you guys know what caused me to do whatever it was that I did?"

Martin looked up from his book and gave me a comforting smile.

"Not really Mai. We have many theories, but there's too many possibilities as to what that really was."

"Theories? Like what?"

The van took a sickening lurch as we rounded a hellacious curve. Lin silently swore but kept the can steady. It felt like we were going to the middle of nowhere.

"Well, for starters, I'm sure Luella has informed you by now her theory of the spirit attachment to you, yes?" I nodded my head as he continued. "If we are running with that theory, the spirit might have had some strong memory of the ocean weather they had died there, was born there, or for whatever reason they have."

I nodded my head. That seemed very logical.

"Or," Naru started in. "A spirit died there and you were the closest to a medium it had a chance to snag." I frowned and crossed my arms. "Or you just dazed off into your own world and didn't realize what was going on."

I glared angrily at him before punching him in the arm. Giving me a dark look he rubbed his arm.

"It's not my fault you're a magnet for danger."

"It's not my fault either!"

"It might as well be."

"Children." Martin scoffed and turned back to look out the window.

We were still following the ocean view but found ourselves still winding around turns and bends into a dense forest. The road soon turned into a one way barely paved road, but the guide continued with his dangerous speed. I suddenly found myself praying that we wouldn't meet anyone on the way to the house in fear we would run them off the road. Eventually, the ocean disappeared behind the forest as we drove deeper into the heart of it all. Trees started to line up against the road as we got closer and closer to the house. Black iron gates hid behind them to keep intruders out.

"Well, she must not get a lot of thieves, does she? They'd get lost trying to get in and out."

Naru shot me a look that warned me to be quiet. I sighed and shook my head. I opened my mouth to say something, but I felt my jaw drop as we came into the clearing. Even Martin had to set down the book he was reading. There, a mansion loomed high before us with a front yard as big as it could possibly be. The pavement turned into white gravel that was outlined with perfectly trimmed bushes. The drive was a circle drive with a grand white fountain resting in the middle surrounded by many flowers of many colors beyond belief.

The manor itself was even a more magnificent view to behold. Its light grey walls stood five stories high into the sky. Green vines climbed up the sides of it, but it added onto its character. Marble grey steps led up to the large wooden door that remained closed. The manor was as large as Urado's mansion, but I prayed hard that it wouldn't be a case like that again.

The van came to a sudden halt as soon as we pulled up in front of the steps. I glanced over at Naru for a reaction but he still remained stone cold as we crawled out of the van.

A tall uniformed man walked down the steps and approached Martin.

"I am assuming you are the one in charge of this group, am I correct?"

Martin slightly bowed his head.

"Yes. I'm Dr. Martin Davis. And the rest of these people are members of my research team. Is the owner of the house in?"

The man shook his head. The others had already gotten out of the cars and joined us with the tall butler.

"I'm afraid not, sir. She had a prior engagement. She will return shortly though, I assure you."

"Good. Please do inform us when she gets back."

"If you will leave your equipment in the car, I will make sure that it will be picked up by the rest of our staff, and please follow me to your rooms. We have enough rooms for your workers to have their own room, a room for you head quarters as you had requested and we will be more than happy to set the dining room up for an interview room as well. Let us know if the rooms are not to your likings."

He turned quickly on his heels and proceeded up the steps. I fell in step behind Martin and next to Naru as we climbed the stairs.

"Do you feel anything?" I barely heard Naru speak softly to me.

I shook my head and looked down at the ground.

"But we still have all day." I whispered back to him.

"That's what I'm afraid of."

Eyes wide, I watched him straighten up.

'_What did he just mean about that?'_

My attention snapped back to the present when I noticed the rest of the group stop before the door. With an elegant swipe of his arm, the butler opened the door wide and presented the large interior.

"The Fumio Manor."

A/N:

Hello everyone! I MISSED YOU ALL! Band camp was fun and hot and humid beyond belief! I hope you like this chapter. It moved really super slow, and I tried to avoid it, but somehow I couldn't. I don't know, tell me what you guys think! And thanks for the reviews far after I had left last week! I can't express how much I missed writing for you guys! But here's this chapter!

Lee: Hey hey hey! I missed you guys!

Me: Did you really have to come today?

Lee: Yes, yes I did. Wanna know why?

Me: Oh please, do enlighten me.

Lee: Well, I knew you weren't feeling good, so I thought seeing me would make you feel better! And your fans as well. You've missed them for a week, haven't you?

Me: Actually, I did. I missed you guys really bad. But band camp was fun! Lee and I made the top three bands! Which is extremely awesome!

Lee: and fun! And hard too…

Me: Yeah, and I got sick. I meant to update Saturday when I got home, but I was sick Saturday and yesterday. Sorry!

Lee: You better be better by Thursday, that's all I gotta say.

Me: Ah yes, our birthday is Thursday! Yeah! We'll be 17!

Lee: YEAH!

Me: Anyways, this is a shorter chapter, and I'm sorry about it. But please, still read and review. You guys make me smile all the time!

Lee: And me too! I love you guys too though I don't do anything! Please love the Jazzy and review! :D

Me: Thanks Lee!

Love forever and always,

Jazzy and Lee!


	6. Gone?

1:23 p.m.

I closed my mouth for what must have been the thirteenth time this afternoon. I stood in the grand doorway of what had to have been my bedroom. It wasn't a bedroom like any other that I had ever stayed in. All the furniture was old fashioned and beautifully hand crafted. The window was much taller than Lin and had a beautiful overlook of the ocean. The poster bed was stained dark brown and held up white curtains that were drawn back to show the mattress. It was a bed fit for a queen. I took another step into the empty room and threw myself on the bed. I took a deep breath in and sighed in relief.

'_It's like I've died and gone to heaven!'_

"Mai,"

I shot straight up from my bed when I heard Naru's voice from the door way.

"I promise I'm not sleeping! I was just testing out the bed, that's all!"

He raised his eyebrow in a bemused expression as a smile played on his lips. He took a step in and shut the door before taking a seat next to me on the bed. I gently laid a hand on his back and rubbed between his shoulders.

"Are you sure you wanna do this?"

"I'm not about to back out of a case for personal issues."

"Yes, so you've mentioned several times."

"You're rather persistent today."

"And you're as just bull headed as usual."

I drew my hand back and sat cross legged next to him and threw my hands in my lap.

"Go make my tea."

"I would but I don't know where the kitchen is."

"If you had decided to follow us to the base, you would know that there's already a kitchen in there."

I frowned and crossed my arms.

"You know, we haven't had a good fight in a while. This is kinda refreshing."

His blue eyes held onto mine and were very playful for once.

"You don't know where the base is, do you?"

I squirmed under his look and stood up.

"No, I don't. Would you please show me where it is?" I asked.

He smirked and stood. I shuffled out of his way as he walked towards the door. He rolled his eyes and grabbed my hand.

"Come on Mai, we've got work to do, and you have tea to make."

The room for the base was large, but that was because the servants had pushed the furniture off to the side and pulled in the shelves for the equipment. A large desk sat up towards the front with a large wheelie chair behind it. Lin resided in the comfortable looking chair already with his lap top pulled out and typing away at it. Martin stood over Lin's shoulder reading.

"Where's everyone else at?"

"Looking around." Martin answered me.

"Oh."

Behind Lin was a door that stood propped open. Though the lights in there were off, I could clearly see a kitchen like the one back at the office. It was big enough to sit down and have a break if we needed one.

I found the cook top and a tea kettle without any problem and instantly set to work. I dug in my purse and pulled out a bag of tea from the office and waited for the water to boil. I heard the door to the base open as voices filled the silent atmosphere. I poked my head out and noticed that the rest of our luggage lied there in the middle of the floor. I furrowed my eyebrows together and shot a questioning glance at Monk.

"We told them we'd take care of the luggage since they didn't know what belonged to whom."

"Sort that mess out and deal with it now before someone falls over it." Naru ordered.

I heard the tea kettle squeal and I immediately went to tend to it.

2:21 P.M.

We all sat around the table in one of the many dining rooms apparently. I sat next to Monk. Lin and Naru were on his other side, Martin between our two groups, and across from us was one of the many servants we had to interview. The one that was sitting in front of us wasn't in that bad of a shape. Her eyes were a little shifty though, as if she was waiting for something to come out and get her. Probably her boss for not staying on the job.

Sighing, I glanced back down at my notepad. The same typical places had been listed again: kitchen, basement, upstairs tower, but one had struck me a little odd. The ball room. I hadn't had a chance to explore the mansion yet, but I haven't seen a ball room inside a mansion before. I noticed that the maid finally stood up and bowed in front of Martin.

"Thank you Davis-sensei."

He gave her a comforting smile.

"It's what we're here for. Will you send for the next person, the owner?"

I heard her reply something back but I didn't pay attention. Right now, I was more focused on my doodles on the steno notepad sitting in front of me.

"Mai?" Monk whispered in my ear.

"Hmm?"

"You're not doing anything, are you?"

"Yes I am." I whispered back. "I'm finishing the petals on my flowers."

He snorted and bit back a laugh. I glared at him as my concentration broke and my once perfect, rounded petal turned squiggly. The door opened again and we both fell silent as a tall figure stalked in the room. He was a really broad man dressed in a black and red business suit. His dark brown hair was combed over to the side but held no foreign features at all. His brown eyes glanced over our table and a small smile settled in before he reached out to shake Martin's hand.

'_This isn't Naru's father at all.' _

"It's good that my wife FINALLY agreed to get a team out here. I'm Fumio Shinto, and I welcome you to our lovely home. And these people are?"

Martin nodded his head.

"Yes. Over here, we have my son and my assistant, Olive and Lin. And over here, we have my other assistants, Takigawa-san and Taniyama-san."

He acknowledged us before sitting down.

"It really is a pleasure to meet you, Davis-san. Now, I'm sure you've heard tons of gossip from the staff about what's been happening, but most of it is just spooky ghost stories they tell each other at nights to scare them out of the night shifts."

"So, what has been really happening Fumio-san?" Naru asked.

He sighed and leaned back comfortably in his chair.

"I'll tell the story like it's been told to me long ago. I don't know the history of the land as much as probably would be helpful for you guys, but I know it from when it was bought by an American family in the early 1800s. It was back when the trade system was still just setting up. The American family was a wealthy one and sought out an alliance and trust in the Japanese enterprise when they moved here. They succeeded in their quest for an alliance, and soon, the wealthiest family in Japan began to trade with them. The Fumio family."

"You're family then?" Martin asked.

The man nodded his head.

"Yeah, my family. To make sure we still had the American's trust, my family had encouraged a marriage between the American's only daughter and their youngest son. Anyways, there are too many versions of what happens next, but in the end, they get married, the daughter dies, then two of the sons of the Fumio's die, one of them being her husband, and fingers are being pointed back and forth. Families break ties, drives the Americans out of their homes, and my family took over. They fell in love with the house too much to tear it down, and it's been passed down from generation to generation with deaths following each generation."

"Where did they find the girl when she was dead?"

All eyes turned to me as I finally asked a smart question. The man shrugged.

"No one knows. As I've said before, there are way too many versions of the story to be able to tell what's real and what's not."

"What kind of paranormal activities have you been involved with Fumio-san?" Martin asked.

"Yeah. In the kitchen, silver ware will start moving by itself and rapping noises will pierce at some of the oddest hours. In the basement, you can hear something banging against the doors, as if it's trapped down there and can't get out."

"Have you ever opened the door to let 'it' out?" Naru asked.

He sighed and nodded his head.

"Yeah. It didn't end too well either. I opened the door and some force knocked me through the wall. Spent the rest of the night in the ER and the rest of the week on crutches. I haven't returned down there since then."

"How long ago was this?"

"About a couple of weeks ago."

"Is there anything else?"

"Yes, actually, two more places. The tower. At night, you can hear two people screaming, a man and a woman. They're screaming at each other, which makes it even more odd, but when the man says something, the woman stays quiet."

"Do you know what they're saying?"

"No. You can't understand a single thing they say. It's the same with the letters that appear in the hallway. I think they're both the same language, but I don't know much about it."

"There were also reports of children's laughter down the hall, have you heard about that?" Martin asked.

The color in his face drained.

"Yes, the children. It's believed that it's the spirits of the children that have died here long ago."

"Is there anything else that you or we have missed?"

"Ah yes, the ballroom. There's a grand piano that sits in the corner all by itself and plays at random times of the day. We've moved it out of the room before, but when we came back, it was there, and something was playing it."

"What?" Monk asked. He leaned forward, suddenly interested in the story.

"The keys were moving, as if there was a ghost playing it. My wife demanded it to be broken and tossed away. Of course, the household staff obliged. That night, we heard the piano playing again, but this time, all of the chords were dark and the music sounded angry."

"And how long ago was this?"

The man looked down away from us with a completely new attitude change.

"Last night."

It fell silent across the group. I heard Martin clear his throat and stand up.

"Thank you, Fumio-san. We'll get to work as soon as we possibly can."

Fumio Shinto stood up and shook hands with Martin again.

"It should be I thanking you Mr. Davis. I trust you can take care of this problem soon."

"We'll do everything in our power to take care of your problem."

The man gave the rest of us a smile before he left. I sighed and stood up.

"This is gonna be one hell of case, isn't it?" Monk asked as he stood up next to me.

"Let's head back and talk with the others about our plan of action."

We gathered up all of our notes and began to follow Martin down the hall way. Naru walked next to me, hands in his pocket and his black note book tucked under an arm. He glanced over at my notebook and frowned.

"Mai, I pay you to work, not doodle." He scolded softly before Martin broke out into his scheme. I quickly shut my pad and shot him a glare.

"We'll defiantly need to be on our guard, that's for sure. Mai, Noll, take the notes, go back to the base, and pull out the blue prints, pin them on the cork board, and pin point the places where our cameras need to go."

"Yes sir."

"Hai."

We entered the base where everyone was finishing setting up the rest of the monitors and computers. The cameras and microphones sat off in the corner, waiting for their chance to work again.

"Takigawa and Lin, I'll need yours and the others help check the batteries on the equipment. We want it in its best shape for this case. Let's get to it."

Naru and I found the cork board Martin had been talking about and pulled it out. We leaned it against the chair as I went in search for pins and Naru for the blue prints.

"Lin-san, do you have any pins?"

Lin pulled something out of one of the desk drawers and tossed it to me. I managed to catch it and observed the small package. Pins.

"Thanks."

I turned back to our board and found that Naru already started pinning the blue prints on it.

"How did you…?"

"Don't ask Mai, just give me those."

I sighed and handed them over to him as he carefully pinned the blue prints on there.

"Okay, read me the list of the attacks."

I flipped open my steno pad and looked at the list.

"Are you ready?"

He rolled his eyes. I took that as a yes.

"Ball room. Kitchen. Hallways. Basement. Tower."

"Did he ever specify which hallway?"

"We need to cover as many as we can son." Martin answered from across the room.

I felt my jaw drop as I looked at the blue prints.

"There's so many to deal with…" I muttered.

Naru frowned and crossed his arms.

"We need to find the main ones."

"Right."

I stood behind him, carefully studying the map, but had no idea where to go with it.

"How many cameras do we have to use?"

"Ten, but five of them is already claimed. Let's put two down this hall, facing towards each other." Naru pointed at it on the map. "And see here? There's a little hallway that connects to this major one right here. We'll put the last three down here. One to look down the small and the other two, facing towards each other."

"Right. And that way, they're close to either the ball room, or the tower."

"You're catching on."

"You guys got the places figured out?" Luella called over to us.

We both nodded as she approached us with cameras in her hands.

"Good. You two will be a team. Martin and I make up another one. Madoka is paired with Yasu, Masako is with John, and may the heavens help us, Takigawa and Ayako are together. If we put up two cameras per group, we should get done soon. Here," She dumped the cameras and microphones in Naru's arms and handed me the head set. "Unfortunately, we only have one of these working right now, so as soon as you're done, come find a group and adjust the camera please and thank you!"

And with that, the groups were already filing out the door, leaving Lin to his monitors. I ended up taking the microphones and cameras from Naru because I had no idea where I was going. We walked together in silence before Naru broke it.

"Have you felt anything since we've been here?"

"No. Nothing yet. But we still have all day."

"And all night." I heard him mumble.

We both knew what that had meant. My dream.

We came to a sudden halt when we saw the door that had led up to the tower. Naru pulled the door open and stepped in before me. It was dark but there was just enough light for us to find the spiral staircase.

"Leave a microphone and camera down here."

I nodded my head and put a set aside before we ventured upstairs. The boards creaked and moaned under our weight and a sudden fear that the whole thing would collapse grabbed onto me tightly. The steps stopped spiraling as we came to an open round room that over looked the entire estate. Windows covered the walls giving you a view of everything that was going on. It was enchanting really.

"Mai," Naru spoke, snapping me out of my daze, "Put the camera up by the steps and call in to Lin."

"Okay."

As soon as we both agreed on the proper angle for the camera and microphone, I called in to Lin.

"Hey Lin, this is camera one in the tower. How do we look?"

"Good."

"Alright. Thanks."

Luella stood by me as I checked the final camera.

"Alright Lin, camera ten is in place."

"Move it to your left a little."

I obliged and shifted it.

"Is this good?"

"Yeah. Come on back you two." Martin's voice answered over the head set.

"Okay."

I straightened up and stretched out.

"Alright Luella, the men beckon us home."

She smiled and wrapped her arm around mine before we proceeded down the hall.

"You know Mai, I'm kinda glad I get to work with you finally."

"Why's that?"

"Because honestly, my team back in England doesn't know how to have fun."

We both giggled and entered the base and our giggling came to a sudden halt as soon as we all saw the solemn looking faces of the rest of the team and a rather distressed maid. Her face was buried in her hands and Masako was trying her best to calm the woman down.

"Is everything okay?" Luella asked softly.

Naru and Martin shot each other a knowing look before Naru spoke.

"One of the maids has gone missing."

A/N: Hello everybody!

Lee: HIIII!

Me: I'm sorry it took me a bit to update. But I have good news and bad news. Which one first Lee?

Lee: The bad news because it leads into the good news.

Me: Huh? Okay, we'll go with the bad news first. Bad news: I was diagnosed with Mononucleosis or in short: Mono. It's best known as the kissing disease, but my boyfriend doesn't have it. You can also get it by drinking from a water fountain or just simply being coughed on.

Lee: I've already had it so I can't get it. But Mononucleosis is a viral infection causing fever, sore throat, and swollen lymph glands, especially in the neck. And here's what's worse: it takes up to four weeks for her to get over the fever and nasty stuff and an extra two weeks or more to regain her health. No society for six weeks all together.

Me: Yes, and I'm starting on week two which is driving me absolutely insane. So, that's how I'm going to spend the rest of my summer. Stuck in the house with a sore throat and a fever. But on to the good news!

Lee: Yes! The good news! If she isn't feeling bad that is, she can pretty much update a lot more since she's pretty much useless.

Me: I'm not useless… okay, maybe I am. I'm just a lump on a log as of now. But when I get better, I'll be more than you can handle. But I will try to type a lot more than what I have been, I promise! I feel as if I've neglected you guys enough.

Lee: Yeah, you have. Oh and we want to thank everyone for our birthday wishes! They made us both feel special!

Me: Yes, they did. I wrote an extra long chapter for you guys too! So, enjoy!

Lee: Yes do enjoy! Or else. Tehehe. =)

Love forever and always,

Jazzy and Lee


	7. Intuition strikes Again

2:43 A.M.

"_Help!"_

_Darkness had surrounded me yet again. I was cold, clammy and terrified beyond belief. A shudder was sent down my spine as I hugged myself tighter to get some warmth but with fail. The cold cement ground was doing me no good what-so-ever. After all these years of working here, I had no idea about this place in the basement. All I knew was one thing: I had to escape, no matter what. I had to get away from him._

"_Help! Somebody!" I managed to croak._

_There wasn't an answer at all. I was starting to think I didn't yell loud enough. His face flashed in my mind yet again as I shut my eyes tightly and felt my energy drain. I tried to remember how I got down here, but nothing helped. Not with the state I was in. I wanted to live. To get away. I had to._

"_HELP!"_

_There was a loud bang, as if someone had closed a door. But they weren't coming for me. They couldn't hear me. No one could. Not behind my cemented prison. I shook my head as a fresh batch of tears rolled down my face and I curled up into a ball. No one was coming for me. I was alone._

I shot straight up from my bed and glanced around my room and rubbed my eyes. A dream. That's all it was.

'_Wait just a second…'_

I quickly jumped out of my bed and threw a robe over my pjs and scurried out of the room as quickly as possible and down the dark hall way. I knew my way already to the base by heart. When I entered the base, three dark heads snapped towards the door. It was Lin, Naru and Martin, all working late. Naru stood up instantly and showed some concern.

"Mai?"

"I know where she is." I blurted out.

Now the three of them looked confused as I began my dream over again.

"I had a dream. I'm certain I was in the maid's place because I remember her thinking that she didn't know the room she was being held existed in the basement." I spilled out as quickly as I could. "She was scared and cold and alone. I don't think we have that much time left."

All at once it seemed like the men were back in action. Martin started giving orders.

"Lin, check the camera to the basement and make sure the readings are normal. Oliver, pull up those blue prints again and look over the basement. Mai, go wake up Takigawa and Ayako. And hurry."

I nodded my head and slipped back out into the hall way and towards Monk's door. I banged on it until he answered. His hair was tousled around everywhere and dark bags highlighted under his eyes as he rubbed the sleep off of them. Scratching his head he asked the simple question.

"Mai? What are you doing up at this time?"

"We think we've found the maid. Martin asked me to come and get you."

His eyes were suddenly wide open as the news processed in his sleepy brain.

"Okay, I'll be right there."

I turned away to go find Ayako's room next.

3:21 A.M.

We were all fully dressed and the members Martin had asked for were searching for the door way. Ayako and I sat on the steps of the basement and looked at the blue prints with our flashlights. We found the door on the paper; it was just that we couldn't see it. I knew that the men were getting frustrated by now.

"Mai, I really hope you're not leading us on a wild goose chase." Naru called back to me.

"I'm not. I know she's down here."

Frowning, I stood up and made my way to the wall. I studied it carefully but found nothing wrong or out of place. The four men sighed and went to sit on the steps with Ayako, leaving me alone. I gently placed my hand on the wall and waited for something to happen as I studied it.

"Mai, nothing's going to happen. It's just a dead end."

I turned around to shoot a glare at Naru and leaned my back against the wall. A grinding sound began to fill the room and I felt the wall disappear from behind me. I had no time to catch myself as I let out a screech and fell into the dark passage.

"Mai!"

"I'm okay!"

I found my flashlight and flicked it on towards the opening. Light filled the small hallway as the others shined their flashlights in, looking for me. Shivering, I stood up and dusted myself off by the time they reached me. It was freezing cold down here. I felt a set of hands grab my shoulders and turn me towards them. My eyes met the piercing gaze of the dark blue eyes I had so fallen in love with.

"Are you okay?" Naru asked.

I nodded my head.

"Yeah I'm fine. Let's go see what we can find here."

Martin and Lin took the lead as Naru and I followed behind. As the hallway ended, we came into a clearing that looked very familiar. It was the one from my dream. And laying on the floor in front of us, was a maid in nothing but rags for clothes. She looked dead, but I could faintly see her breathing.

"Bou-san, take her up to Ayako and wake up Fumio-san immediately. Noll, call an ambulance."

Everyone broke out into action as they followed Martin's orders. I got out of the way as Monk carried the girl bridal-style out of the room. The poor girl made a noise of pain as she slowly came to. I quickly caught up with Monk and held her hand. It was very cold, but she wasn't dead yet. The next thing I noticed was her appearance. She seemed like she was a foreigner. Someone from America. Her hair was too bright and her skin was really tan for a Japanese person.

'_Who is she?'_

"It's gonna be okay, we've got you."

She slowly responded to my voice and opened her eyes. They were dark and seemed hopeful.

"D-don't…let… him… get…you." Her voice was rasp and barely a whisper, but I defiantly heard her warning.

She gave my hand a small squeeze before she closed her eyes again. We went through the door way and met Ayako at the stairs. She stood up and was ready to take action.

"Come on, let's get her in a room."

I let Monk go up the stairs to follow Ayako, and I was doing my best to keep up.

Naru was instantly at my side.

"What did she say to you?" He whispered.

"She told me not to let him get me, whatever that's supposed to mean." I whispered back.

When we reached the top of the stairs, we broke off on our own ways.

8:54 A.M.

I slumped back in the comfortable couch and closed my eyes for a second.

'_What a morning! I haven't slept since the dream. At least the maid is going to live.'_

"Hey, Mai-chan! Talk to me!" A whiney and yet familiar voice cooed.

I opened an eye and saw the pouting face of the college student. I sighed and rubbed my eyes before I sat up straight.

"What do you want?"

Sleep, it was calling my name. More like screaming it.

"What happened earlier? Why wasn't I invited to join? Huh? I feel so left out and hurt Mai-chan!"

I stifled a yawn the best I could before I answered him.

"I had a dream that led us to the finding of the missing maid. You weren't invited to join because Martin didn't request you. Sorry that you feel left out Yasu, it was a quick operation."

His face dropped a little and he blinked before he took a seat next to me on the couch.

"Wait, _what_?"

I yawned this time as Masako and John came in. Martin and Luella were at the hospital with the maid, and the others were still at breakfast.

"Last night I had a dream about the missing maid and I figured out where she was. I went to get Martin and Naru, and of course, we went to go find her. We did find her, and Ayako was able to keep her around until the ambulance had showed up. Haven't slept since."

"Hmmm…" I heard Masako thinking aloud. "I thought I felt something off."

"What do you mean?" I asked, now curious to her statement.

"The spirit seemed a bit…disgruntled this morning when I woke up."

"He's probably mad that we took away his prisoner."

"He is." She answered me.

As if the spirit heard us, wailing sounds pierced from the basement. Just then Naru rushed in the door and looked over Lin's shoulder. I immediately jumped off the couch and headed towards the monitors to watch the temperature drop at a fast rate. We could hear a loud thumping sound followed by children laughing as if they were running down the hall. My attention quickly turned to the hallway monitor as the lights flashed. And as quickly as it had started, everything came to an absolute stop.

"What the hell happened?" Monk asked.

"The spirit got mad and threw a fit. We're gonna have to be careful with how we approach this thing." Naru spoke.

There was a silent knock on the door before someone entered. I held my breath as I recognized the beautiful and cold woman. Her blue eyes glanced around the room before she finally spoke to Naru.

"I apologize for not coming to greet your team yesterday. I had important matters to attend to."

"A woman of your social status must be very busy Fumio-san." Naru spoke.

They both glared hard at each other. Yasu and Monk shot me a questioning glance but I shrugged as she began to speak again.

"Who was it that found our dear maid?"

"Taniyama-san did." It was Monk that spoke and gestured towards me.

Her eyes drifted over to me and there was a spark of recognition in them. The corners of her mouth pulled to show a small smile.

"Come, we must talk."

I shot Naru a nervous glance and decided to follow her. Naru grabbed a hold of my wrist and gave me a warning look.

"I'll be fine." I whispered as I took my hand back from him and went out into the hall way with Sakkara Fumio.

I found ourselves walking in an awkward silence outside in the garden. My silent and dark companion walked with such grace and composure, that I was sure she could've been born of nobility. She might have been born of nobility with the estate she was living on. We were weaving in and out of a maze of hedge bushes and we finally came into a clearing with a water fountain in the middle. Sakura trees decorated the edges and a pavilion sat across from us. But she chose to take a bench that was next to the fountain. She motioned for me to sit next to her. I obliged hesitantly.

"How is it that you found the girl when I possibly could not trace her myself?"

I squirmed under her hard gaze and looked somewhere else.

"I have dreams that relates to cases. I can dream of a spirit's past, or whatever they want me to see. I can also find people in my dreams, but it's a rare occasion for me to find someone. This is only the second time it's happened."

"But how did you know she was in the basement?"

"When I'm in a dream, sometimes I fill in for the person, or I'm just watching from a different point of view. In this case, I was in her place, and I could feel and hear everything that she could. And think. She thought about the room that she never knew existed in the basement."

"And you had the blue prints. She called out to you and you found her."

I nodded my head as the pieces fell together in her mind.

"How long have you been working for this agency?"

The question took me off guard completely. I glanced at her from the corner of my eye and saw that she was still in her thoughts.

"A few years now. Why?"

"I was just wondering if that was when you started to develop your _abilities_. When you started working for Oliver."

We sat in yet another awkward silence.

"Why did you really call us?" I asked softly.

Her cold blue eyes pierced into mine and I winced for a second. A frown formed on her face as she looked away from me.

"I don't know. Let's call it, intuition."

A/N: Yeah! An early update! =) Well, it's early for me anyways. So, what do ya think? It was a fun chapter to write, and yet the fastest I've written in a while. I just had the idea for Mai and Sakkara to talk, and I don't know why. I wanna keep her in that mysterious cloud for now, and then the real fight begins. Tehehe. Oh, and by the way, I'm gonna leave Fawoo out of this author's note for the tim-

Lee: NO YOU ARE NOT!

Me: *smacks forehead* What the hell? I thought you were gone.

Lee: No. I'm obviously not. I decided that I didn't want to go after all. Can't leave the sick girl home all by her onesy. Who know what she'll do by herself?

Me: Not much really. The doctor told me not to do anything strenuous.

Lee: yeah, you can't really do much of anything. But type that is.

Me: And read! Jerk face. I wish you did leave if you were gonna tease me like this. Wanna know a secret?

Lee: What?

Me: You forgot to do the special thanks to our reviewers in the third chapter.

Lee: *faces drop* What? I forgot? I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! I'll start it off then. The sick girl and I specially want to thank the following reviewers! (There is not a specific order, just by going what's on my screen)

Me: Thanks to: **southern-punk** (I freakin' heart you by the way), **krisaku** (you've always been there since the beginning, haven't you?), **Flamegirl5500** (I love you too!), **xSapphirexRosexFanx** (the computer has a conniption fit everytime we type in your name. I don't know why, but it does!), **aniAngelxx** (hello!), **sweetymai90** (hello old friend!), **mia-chan** (or is it mai-chan? I don't know! :P), **FlippingThroughMemories** (where on earth did you come up with a cool name like that?), the ever so exuberant **cameo107**, **Jade Starlight** (Hello again! :) I still love your name).

Lee: *butts in the way* Move to the side sicko. My turn! Thank you to: **sarasaysraw**r (cute name. I can say rawr too, but it means I'm hungry…), **Jadeturttle** (I love turtles! I'm sorry, but you name just made me say it. Tehehe), **crazylittlecheezer** (GLOMP I must say that Jazzy and I LOVE your drawings and your writing!),

Me: *pushes Lee out of the way* You are soo mean to your own sick sister! How could you? Anyways, thanks to: one of my bestest friends on fanfiction, **Clippedwing** (you are right about those stupid trumpet like things that I can't spell to save my life. We should just burn them ALL!), **FallenRaindrops** (Lee drools over your name, I don't know why…)

Lee: *sits on Jazzy* I SAID DOWN SICKO! Now, onwards with the shout outs: **lil whit** (where did you get that name? I like it!)…

Me: Lee! Oh please oh please let me do this one! PLEASE!

Lee: Okay. Just this one. BUT THAT IS IT! *moves off of Jazzy*

Me: I would like to say a special thank you to one of my most favorite authors on here that I've been following since the beginning because I fell in love with her series! Thank you to: **mytruthaboutlife**. You probably have no idea how estatic I was when I saw I got a review from one of my heroes! =P Thanks!

Lee: And now that she's done oogling over her 'hero' *sits back down on Jazzy*we will continue. Thank you to: **Conejo-san** (where did you get that name? Does it have a meaning?) **krissy2lip** (I like your profile pic!) **ShadowedHand** (Dude, I LOVE that name. And Jazzy gives you a muffled thank you because she feels honored that you are reading this story, though it isn't complete!), **twilightangel61090 **(hello Jess! Jazzy says hi too, though she can't speak much**), xdreamernumbuhfour** (where do we get these cool names?), **TYOr** (Does the letters stand for something?), **BloddyXandra** (now that is one cool name too!), **Aktaiy** (hello, we haven't met before…), **genderless-but straight** (it seems as if we haven't met either!), **Moons-chan** (Hello again! Nice to see you drop in for a bit!), **sunniessmiles** (Jazzy says thank you for catching up and all because trust us, we know how exams go. They suck. We both hope you did well!), the ever-so-lovely **Ariana-Taniyama** (totally love that name too! So cute!), and finally, last but not least-

Me: *Finally pushes Lee off and out of the chair* HAHAHA! I WIN! Thank you finally to **reveriethinker13. **I win! Oh, and thank you everyone who has favorited my story, myself and put me on the alert list. I really appreciate all of your support through the thick and thin of things. I really wish I had such a great group of supporters and friends in real life like you guys. I have good friends, but sometimes, I love being able to turn to you guys!

Lee: Yeah! We most certainly do love talking to you guys, it's like we're super duper close or something.

Me: Definitely. We love you guys! And mean it from the bottom of our hearts. So thanks for not only the support, but the love you guys give us.

Lee: And cookies. Oh, and Lee's corner is back open, so if you have questions for the Fatwolf or for Jazzy, just fire away, it makes these things a lot more entertaining. =P

Love always and forever,

Jazzy and Lee


	8. My Love

3:28 P.M.

I squirmed on the couch and glared angrily at the folder as I tried to not let the lady get to the best of me.

'_She's just pissed that I got to find the maid and she didn't.' _I comforted myself.

"Mai."

My head snapped up from the folder and directly to where my boyfriend/boss stood at. His arms were crossed. Truthfully, I'd been avoiding him all day; I knew he would ask about our earlier confrontation. Squirming under his strong gaze, I tried to play stupid.

"Yes Naru?" I called from my seat, though I knew he wanted me to come and talk to him.

"Come here."

I looked around the room for any sign of help but no one was willing to give me any. I only got shrugs or ignored completely. I couldn't decide which one hurt the most. My usual saviors, which were usually Martin, Madoka or Luella, were at the hospital for the second round of watch duty. It was a safety precaution they decided to take. And originally, I was supposed to go with them, but they didn't find me in time to take me back with them, I was still with Sakkara.

Sighing, I pushed myself out of the couch and reluctantly followed Naru into the hallway. As soon as the door was shut, he began the interrogation.

"What did she want?"

I crossed my arms and leaned against the wall.

"To thank me for finding the maid."

His dark eyes searched me and I tried to keep a calm composure.

"That wasn't all that was said, was it?"

"I didn't say that's what she said."

His eyes flashed angrily before he was in front of me giving me one of his oh-so famous stares that bore into your soul. It made me feel guilty, and I don't even know why I was guilty.

"Okay, so she wanted to know how I found the maid."

His face dropped a little.

"Did you tell her?"

I nodded my head.

"Yes Naru, I told her because she asked."

"In detail?"

"She asked for the details."

He sighed and rubbed his temple. I knew he was getting a head ache from this. A smile played on my lips.

"You were worried about me, weren't you?"

His eyes grew soft and he actually held both of my arms. He gave them a tight squeeze as his expression did a complete 180 turn.

"Mai, you don't know how dangerous this woman is. She can do whatever she wants and can probably get away with it."

"She wouldn't do anything to anybody, Naru. Why would she want to do anything to me or you?"

His face grew a little bit harder now as he gave me one last squeeze before he left me standing alone in the hall. Letting out a sigh, I decided it was best to get my folders and find a quieter place to work.

It wasn't long before I found the perfect spot to go over the files: the library. Books lined the walls and a large sofa sat in the middle with two extra recliners. The windows were tall and touched the ceiling to the bottom of the floor. There was a perfect window seat that was very comfortable and of course, I made myself right at home before I broke into the stack of files to review with my highlighter from my messenger bag. I scanned over the pages of information about the builders of the house and the incidents that occurred while it was being built, but nothing major worth to mention. No one died and none of the accidents were freak accidents. I flipped the folder close and decided it was time to stretch and look around the library for anything to help the case.

And then I found it.

I don't know why, but it seemed like it called to me.

On one of the shelves I found three large black leather books. Curiosity got the better of me and I pulled them out. Dust filled the air as I brushed them off. Obviously they hadn't been touched in years and I knew I found something good. I got settled back in my spot by the window and opened the first book I grabbed. The first page had a picture and words written next to it. The picture was of a girl, no older than myself, and she was on an old ship. I couldn't recognize anything in there to even let me know it was Japan she was in, or even understand what she wrote. It was all in English. And then I knew I would have to talk to Naru to get him to read it to me.

'_Or John could translate. He knows English too…'_

And suddenly I started talking myself out of it.

'_No, Naru would be pissed beyond belief if I kept a find like this from him.'_

I closed it and opened the other book to see if it had writing in it. Oh and it did. It was the same writing from the walls, but this time, it was in different hand writing.

'_A note book between two people? And in a dead language too…'_

I sighed knowing I really wasn't getting anywhere with these stupid journals. I put the two I couldn't understand to the side and pulled out the third one. I flipped it open and I definitely understood the writing. It was Japanese.

'_Ha! Third time's the charm!'_

Unlike the first one, this one did not contain any pictures what-so-ever in it. In all honesty, I was slightly disappointed. I liked pictures. But as I read the first line, I knew I had to get these journals to Naru. I quickly stuffed them in my bag with the folders and began to make my way back to base. The halls were empty as usual, except for the cameras watching every move I made. I quickly found the door to base and busted in, almost out of breath. I didn't realize how far the library was from the base. Naru's cold gaze locked with mine as he said that one simple and annoying phrase.

"Mai, tea."

"It can wait." I said quickly.

His eyes flashed with surprise and all around it grew quiet as the rest of the team waited and watched to see what was going to happen. But before a fight could break out again, I pulled the three journals from my bag and handed them to Naru.

"Here, I found this in the library. One of them is in English, the other in the dead language, and the other in Japanese."

He took them and looked between me and the books.

"How did you find these?"

"They were just sitting on the shelf in the library."

He flipped the one that had the dead language written in it and handed it to Lin.

"Find a way to translate this."

"It's a dead language."

"Which makes it even a tougher case to crack." I added in.

He turned to Yasu and handed the journal with the Japanese written in it.

"Here. Take this, read it and make notes of everything that seems of great importance."

Yasu nodded his head and retrieved a notebook from his bag. Naru turned back to me.

"Tea. Then we'll go and check the room temperatures."

I nodded my head and inwardly groaned. Tea again. I made my way to the kitchen area and pulled the stuff together to make tea.

I set a cup down in front of everyone, though I knew some wouldn't drink it. It would all depend on the mood they were in.

And then the doors opened up and in walked Martin and Madoka who looked slightly exhausted.

"Would you guys like some tea?"

"Ah no." Madoka said as she plopped next to Yasuhara on the couch and propped her feet up on the coffee table.

"No thanks Mai. But that maid keeps insisting to see you. Luella stayed with her for the time being, but she would really like it if you came over as soon as possible."

I looked over to Naru who sighed and crossed his arms as he spoke to his dad in English. Of course. The one language I still didn't understand.

'_One of these days I'm gonna learn it. I promise myself that before I go to England again!'_

"Mai you can go. Monk, take care of the cameras. And Mai, take the folders with you to review if you're gonna be there for long."

He shot a dark look at his father who ignored it as he held out a hand to me.

"Are you ready?"

I nodded my head and followed him out the door, but not without shooting a glance at Naru, who seemed to be fuming.

4:13 P.M.

I stood awkwardly next to Martin as we stood in the door way. He looked in and saw Luella sitting next to the window with her feet curled up underneath her. The blonde haired girl was asleep peacefully but she still looked rather pale. Luella smiled when she saw me.

"Sorry." She whispered. "She fell asleep after you left Martin. But she might wake up anytime soon."

Luella stood and whisked us out into the hall way. Martin crossed his arms and leaned on the wall. Such a Naru move.

"So, what did we find out?" He asked.

Luella sighed and shrugged.

"She's only eighteen. Ran away from home from America and is completely parentless now. She inherited a great fortune and spent some it to get here. The rest of it is hidden away in a bank. But she didn't want to be found and stayed with the low profile as a maid. She's lived here since she was sixteen."

"Does the Fumio family know this?"

Luella nodded.

"Yep. They knew and still took her in. Didn't make her pay for rent or anything. As long as she worked there, she had a place to call home."

"Name?"

"Elizabeth Andersen."

I nodded my head and poked it back in the room. The girl stirred and her eyes fluttered open. Luella poked her head in behind me and smiled at the girl and then pushed her way in.

"Hey Elizabeth, Martin brought Mai over if you want to meet her."

The girls eyes were suddenly full of life as she tried to sit up.

"I would love to meet her please."

Luella motioned for me to come in. I shyly stepped into the hospital room and approached the hurt girl. As I took a careful seat next to her bed, I noticed Luella and Martin had left. Her blue eyes were full of pain and I couldn't begin to imagine what she was going through.

"Hi. It's finally nice to meet you Mai. I'm Elizabeth Andersen."

I smiled weakly at her. This would probably be one of the most awkward situations I've ever been put in.

"Thank you for saving me Mai."

"It's no problem, really. I'm just glad we found you."

She grew quiet and looked down away from me.

"Me too. How did you find me? I heard you were the one responsible for it."

I nodded my head and shrugged.

"I have dreams that relate to the case. You happened to be in my dream late that night."

"I'm glad I was. Another hour, and I wouldn't be here."

I put my hand over hers and gave her a soft smile. She returned it before she went off into her story.

"I don't know what happened really. I mean, one minute, I'm happily cleaning away and the next, I'm in the basement cellar, being abused. I couldn't see my attacker at all. But he talked. And I kept getting hurt over and over by some force I couldn't get away from."

"I'm sorry…"

"The worst part of it all was when he called me my love. He said it so sarcastically it scared me half to death. I was so scared."

I now held her hand and found myself sitting on the edge of her bed as I hugged her.

"I promise, Elizabeth, that we're gonna get rid of him as soon as possible."

A/N: I know I know. I didn't update on my usual day. But that was because I did an early one on Friday. But that was about a week ago. And I am doing something I promised I wouldn't ever do… I'm attempting another story while working on this one. And it's in a different category and I'm actually a bit scared. As an author for a long time with you guys, I've never noticed how spoiled I am with your reviews. But I'm a spoiled brat with you guys in all honesty. So I'm nervous, but ready to face the NEW. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, it was a little filler, and I'll update on Sunday or Monday. I PROMISE!

Lee: Pfffttt. Yeah right. LIAR!

Me: *Shoves pillow in face* Shut up. No one wants your opinion.

Lee: Oh yes they do!

Me: *sits on Lee* Ahh much better. Silence. But please, give me your opinions on what you think!

Love,

Jazzy and Lee


	9. PK At The Highest Setting

_11:03 P.M._

I plopped down on the couch and sighed. Today was a long day and there we got a lot out from it. I propped my feet up on the table and grabbed the files of notes that was taken between Naru, Yasu and Lin. Well, not so much from Lin. We still couldn't understand what the writing in the journal was. But it was the journal with the Japanese writing in it that intrigued me the most. It was the journal of the eldest son from the Fumio family; that much Yasu did discover.

I felt someone slide into the seat next to me. Knowing who it was, I laid my head down on his shoulder.

"Any news?" He asked.

"Yeah. We skipped interviewing the maid when we first got here. She said since she's been here, she kept hearing whispers in her ear. Two voices, one was a woman's voice and the other was a man's. But she chose to ignore it because she was happy that she even had a place."

"Did she tell you what the whispers said?"

I nodded.

"The woman's voice told her to run. The man's voice said she was his."

"We have reason to believe that the spirit that's the cause of all of this is to be eldest son of the two Fumio sons."

"Is that his journal you found?"

Naru nodded.

"He was infatuated with the American girl, despite the fact that he was married."

"Oh." I stopped and shook my head. "So he was jealous of his brother for marrying the girl of his dreams?"

"That's what it seems like."

We both fell quiet as I snuggled into his chest. He wrapped his arm around me tighter and sighed.

"What happened to the wife?"

"Like the others, she died."

"How?"

He grew quiet and took a deep breath in.

"Suicide, or so the reports said. She jumped off a cliff into the…" He trailed off and suddenly stood, leaving me a little confused.

"What? What's wrong?"

He was over to the lap top in a second and quickly typing away at it. I stood up a little slowly and went to the kitchen to make tea. Whatever it was that got his attention, I knew he would need his tea to focus. The tea was quickly made and I brought two cups back into the main room. After I placed a cup next to him, I pulled up a small chair and sat down with my feet curled under me. I took a small sip and peeked at the screen he was working on. The words "Shibuya District Cemetery" flashed on as Naru searched the list. A small frown grew on my face. That was the cemetery my parents were buried in.

"What are you doing?"

"A little research. The wife's body was taken back to her home town to be buried."

"That's rare for that time period."

"Exactly, but her parents wanted her closer. So, they brought the body back her home to be buried."

"Which explains what, Naru?"

He sighed and rubbed his temples as if he hated to explain it to me.

"You visit your parents' graves all the time. She's buried there, her spirit attached onto you like a magnet, and you've been carrying her around all this time, knowing that she would end up back here."

It finally clicked on me.

"So when I looked over the ocean…"

"Exactly. She was re-experiencing her death when you leaned on the railing."

I grew quiet as the realization had dawned on me.

"She didn't commit suicide, she was killed. Otherwise, why would she want to come back to the place that caused her pain?"

Naru swiveled in the chair and his cold look made me shiver.

"There are two motives I see as of now. The first one is to warn people of the spirit, or to get revenge on her killer."

I stopped and took another sip of my tea, trying to calm my nerves.

"So we know for a fact that there are two spirits here?"

Naru shook his head.

"Masako said four, but only two have acted up."

"It would make sense that it's the brothers and their wives."

"It does."

"They're the only spirits that would have a great reason to be attached like this anyways."

"Right."

I stopped and smirked.

"Did you say I was right?"

A frown crossed his face.

"I think it's time you went to bed. Don't let my compliment swell your head."

Frowning, I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Well thank you so much. I am off to bed. Are you going to stay up late by yourself?"

Naru shook his head.

"No, Dad will be back soon. He went to check one of the cameras."

"Okay. Sorry for worrying about you, praying that you don't get attacked by some angry spirit or anything like that." I teased.

Naru smirked and crossed his arms.

"If I can remember correctly, Mai, it's usually you who needs to be saved. Not me."

I frowned and crossed my arms.

"Well, it's not my fault I'm a spirit magnet."

I stood and left him by the monitors.

"Good night Mai." He called after me, teasingly.

I harrumphed and went into the hall way where I was met by Fumio-san. I quickly owed respectfully to her.

"Hello Fumio-san. Is there something I can do for you?"

She watched me carefully and raised an eyebrow.

"I'm here to speak to Oliver Davis. Is he in?"

My mind raced a little.

'_Should I tell?'_

I slowly nodded my head.

"Yeah, he's in."

She looked past me and at the door.

"Thank you Taniyama-san."

Our shoulders brushed and she let out a small surprised gasp before she turned onto me. Her eyes seemed to be glazed over, and she wasn't acting like herself at all.

"You're an orphan, aren't you?"

I took a small step away from her, but found the wall behind me.

"F-Fumio-san?" I tried to call out to her.

"Your parents died while you were young and you've lived by yourself with the help of a teacher. You support yourself now and you worked with Oliver since you were fifteen. You discovered you have slight latent powers but nothing too strong. The man that's your dream guide is the deceased Eugene Davis, Oliver's twin."

She took a step forward and reached out a hand. It gently touched my cheek and I felt like something between us connected. There was a searing pain in my forehead as she collected all of my memories. I closed my eyes as they all flashed through my mind. She was gathering memories of my time with SPR and the team.

"P-please," I begged her, but the words wouldn't come out right.

The image of my first kiss with Naru flashed in my mind and I began to pray he would come and stop it all at once. I felt like my legs were giving away and the only thing holding me up was her hand on my face. Images of my parents flashed in my mind. One minute, they were smiling and the next, I was standing by their graves as they were buried. Pain tugged hard on my heart as I realized that I was reliving the scene I had long put behind me.

"No." I chocked on a sob.

"Mai!"

The hand was instantly removed from my face and I opened my eyes to see Martin. I don't think I had ever been as relieved as I had been to see him. He grabbed me by the shoulders and tried to get me to look into his eyes.

"Mai? Are you okay?"

Closing my eyes, I tried to fight away the feeling from the painful memories. I felt large hands grab onto my face.

"Mai, focus on me."

I forced my eyes open as I focused onto Martin. His hazel eyes connected with mine. I heard the door open and close and Martin turned to face Naru. He took in the scene and his eyes instantly hardened as he pushed past Sakkara, who seemed to be in a bit of a daze.

"Son, take her to your mother."

We both knew he meant Luella. As soon as Martin let go of my face, I fell against the wall, weak. I felt a hand wrap itself around my waist and an arm right behind my knees. I wrapped my arms around Naru's neck and buried my head inside his chest.

"What happened?" He asked softly.

I shook my head trying to forget again but it flashed in my mind.

"She read my life by just touching me."

His grip on me tightened. I knew we came to the room because Luella was already talking.

"Come on in and set her down on the bed."

I felt myself being lowered down onto the bed and I released Naru. He stepped back and instantly turned to his mom to talk to her in English again. She brushed past him and pulled up a desk chair in front of me. She gently reached up and grabbed my face like Martin had earlier and studied my eyes.

"Where did it hurt when she swiped the memories?"

"My head. At the front. It was like a head ache but a thousand times worse, like something in there was burning."

I saw Naru's fist clench as he paced around. I shot a worried look his way, afraid that he would lose control like he had in the past. As if she understood what I had wanted, Luella turned on him instantly.

"Get Lin in there with your father, and send for Madoka. I want you in there with your dad just in case she tries something else. And son, don't be reckless. Okay?"

He started to protest but Luella shot him a dark glare that would make even the bravest of men flinch. He glared back, but turned to do as his mother said.

"What did she get Mai? This might be important to the case."

"Everything." I sobbed again and rubbed my arms. I knew right now tears were a bit useless. "From my parent's deaths to today. She found out about Gene being my dream guide. She knows it all."

The door immediately opened up and Madoka rushed right on over. Luella stood and released my face. She sat down next to me and draped an arm over my shoulder, pulling me in a warm embrace.

"Noll told me what happened. I haven't heard or seen anything like this."

"What is it?"

"Oliver has a high level of PK abilities, right? He can find people by just touching something of theirs, trying to locate them, right?"

We both nodded. Madoka gave me a worried glance.

"She was trying to find Noll and Gene in your memories, weather she meant to or not. How did it start?"

So I told them from the beginning again using the best detail I could describe. Madoka bit her bottom lip and glanced over to Luella as soon as I was done telling the story.

"You must be tired, Mai."

I nodded my head as I felt like some heavy weight was sitting on my shoulder. Luella softly stroked my hair and for a moment, it felt like my mother was back. I felt my eye lids grow even heavier and I found myself sleeping.

8:36 A.M.

_I was lost yet again in the darkness. I didn't even cry out this time. I knew they weren't going to come for me. But the fear still had a grip on me. I knew I was lost, but it was up to me to find a way out. But there it was. A small light outlining a door shape. I managed to stand up on my own and headed for the door. I knew this would be it. I would finally break free of the darkness that held me. I reached my hand out and grabbed the handle of the door. And the blood curling scream followed._

A/N: Wow. Sorry it took me an extra day to update. There were some family issues that I've been trying to deal with. And this is probably one of my longest chapters yet!

Lee: See, I told you guys. She didn't update when she said she was.

Me: Shut up Lee. You're lucky I'm not gonna try to sit on you again. Remember what happened last time I did?

Lee: Ah. Yes. You experimented with make up to make me look more…feline-ish? Lion-ish? For our half time show this year.

Me: Well, it is the Lion King show, and since you are the star/drum major, you oughta look somewhat like a lion, even if it is eye shadow.

Lee: Okay, I'm leaving now before you get out the torturing devices again.

Me: YES! SHE'S GONE! Finally! Tehehe. So, I'm gonna try to update as fast as I can and finish this story before I have to go to summer band practice. IT'LL BE MY LAST ONE! I'm finally a senior and I'm oh so happy! And when school hits up again, which will be like another six weeks, I don't know when I'll get a chance to make any new stories because I'll be busy with scholarship applications and college applications and focusing on graduating so I won't have to be stuck in hell for another year. And for my lovely friends who went back to school already, I'm sorry. I feel your pain. Be strong! But anyways, you guys know the rules: R&R please!

Love,

Jazzy and Lee.


	10. Things are not what they seem to be

8:37 A.M.

My eyes slowly opened as I tried to fight off falling back to sleep. And it was then when I realized I hadn't fallen asleep in my bed. Wide awake now, I slowly slipped out of the bed, until a ferocious headache hit me. I groaned and sat back down on the bed. I realized I was still in my clothes from last night. All the memories rushed back to me of last night events and I silently groaned then stopped. There was something wrong with this place, and my gut instinct told me so. I decided it was time to change and get cleaned up so I could continue what we had left off from last night.

I forced myself up from the bed and started to slowly walk to the door, but stopped when I heard a silent argument from the hall way. I couldn't recognize the voices straight away, but I was soon able to discover it was Sakkara and Fumio-san. Though I hated prying, I still stuck around the doorway to hear what was being said.

"…foolish attempt last night. We can't afford to let that happen again!" Fumio-san snapped.

"I can't help it. Something drew me to that girl."

"We're lucky that they aren't pulling out right now! She is completely useless to the plan."

"The plan changed." I heard her snap back equally angry. "That girl wasn't completely useless as you thought. We have a lever. Let's go somewhere more discrete."

I heard their footsteps descend down the hallway and around the corner. I released my breath and decided it was time to go find someone to tell my discovery to.

9:08 A.M.

I finished my story in one big, hurried breath to my audience: John, Masako, Takigawa, Ayako and Yasu. Masako and Ayako shared worried looks as the boys looked over at each other, very confused.

"Did anyone catch what Mai said?" Monk asked. "She talked in hypersonic speed that I didn't catch a single word."

Yasu and John shrugged too.

"It's hard to understand the speech of girls these days. They go too fast for their own good." Yasu spoke.

The three of us shot a glare at him and John shrugged.

"I'm going to admit as well, Mai, I did get lost too."

The three of us groaned and shook our heads.

"You know this is really serious." I said and turned back to the girls of the group. "What if all of this is just a set up?"

Masako covered her mouth with the sleeve of her kimono and looked slightly worried.

"As you speak, Mai, I don't detect any spirits here at all. Not anymore. But that seems impossible. They were here last night."

"What's going on?" Monk asked, aggravated that he wasn't included in our conversation.

The boys shared a look of their own and started their own conversation on their theories of what we were talking about.

"Speaking of last night, I heard something happened." Ayako raised an eyebrow and glanced over to me with her arms crossed over her chest.

I frowned equally hard back at her, and crossed my arms.

"You guys really don't have to worry about what happened last night."

That quieted the boys down a lot.

"Okay, so there was a reason to worry, but nothing really horrendous happened. Martin found me in time before anything serious could take place."

It was Masako who spoke up.

"Mai, it's a woman who is powerful enough to search through your memories just by touch. Something serious did happen."

I looked away from their stares and stood up.

"I'm going to make tea."

I tried to stand up and make my silent escape before I felt hands bring me back down to the couch. It was Monk and Ayako.

"Look, we're not going to make you tell us what happened or anything Mai, but you definitely need to tell Naru and his parents. If we are all in trouble, we need to know now." Monk spoke solidly.

I bit my bottom lip and nodded my head.

"I think things aren't exactly what they seem. We need to find out more about Sakkara Fumio and her husband before we continue any investigating."

"You're right."

We turned to find Madoka and Luella standing in the door way. They both stepped into the nicely furnished room and shut the door behind them.

"The cameras picked up part of their conversation from this morning Mai. It was careless on their part, but we don't know for sure what their motive is. All we know is that the case is a fake. It never existed, but she created enough false information to lure us here." Madoka spoke as she sat in one of the chairs across from us. Luella looked slightly stressed.

"We don't know any motives or anything, but we're fairly sure it's going to be a bit weird for us for the rest of the day." Luella finished.

I nodded my head and looked down at my clasped hands.

"I'm going to make tea." I declared again and stood up this time without anyone jerking me back down to the couch.

It wasn't long before I heard someone else enter the kitchen behind me.

"I can't convince him to go." She muttered softly behind me.

I turned to face Luella and offered her a small cup of tea.

"Here."

She took accepted it gratefully and took a small sip from it.

"I tried to talk to him, try to convince him to pull out right now." She spoke again.

I sighed.

"It's Naru. He can be proud."

"He wanted to pull you off the case instantly after what happened last night."

I frowned and crossed my arms.

"Again? He should know better."

She managed a small smile.

"Yes, I had to remind him of the last time he tried to pull you off a case. "

I smiled too.

"Oh yes, you ended up calling him and talked him out of it. How did you do it anyways?"

She smirked and took another sip.

"When you become a mother Mai, you will understand in time."

"So what now?"

"Research it all. I'll send Madoka and Yasu into the town and see what they can really find out about her."

A thought had suddenly crossed my mind.

"What about the attack on Elizabeth? That was not faked at all."

"No, it wasn't." A dark look crossed her face. "Something did happen to her. We need to pull up a file on her."

I nodded my head and she finished up her cup of tea.

"Now, Mai, no matter what, don't go out alone anymore, okay? We don't want her taking advantage of you again."

I sighed and nodded my head.

"You know, you're getting to sound like Naru now." I teased.

She shrugged.

"Hey, I was the one who raised him after all. Don't let Noll take you off Mai. Don't let him try to talk you into it or anything, okay?"

"Uh, sure? But why?"

She smiled and left me alone with the tea cups and an unanswered question.

12:58 P.M.

I watched as Naru's face turned a little harder as I retold what I had overheard from the hallway. Lin was instantly on his lap top, trying to pull up any information from either subjects: Sakkara and her husband, or Elizabeth. He managed to turn away from me before he ran a hand through his hair. I could tell the entire team was frustrated. We couldn't get a straight answer. We couldn't even decide if we were going to pack up and leave right now or not.

"So, what now?" Monk asked as he leaned over the couch and studied Naru and Martin. "It's your call."

Martin let out a short sigh as all eyes rested on him and Naru both. Monk was true. It was their call. Both of them knew we would stay with them if they stayed. Naru let out a short sigh not long after and crossed his arms before looking down at me.

"I already know the answer to this, but Mai, it's really not safe for you here."

"So I've been told." I replied just as coolly. "But you know, I'm safer with people who know protective charms compared to being at home by myself where _anything_ can happen Naru."

I heard snickers coming from behind me and my colleagues received the icy glare. The snickering came to a halt. I managed a smile but everything jumped back to business when Lin called out to us.

"Elizabeth Andersen's psychological profile states that she had slight PK abilities without her knowledge. Sometimes she could hear voices, but they blew it off. That was her reason for running away."

I looked back over to Naru and an idea popped into my head as I turned to the ladies of the group.

"I think it's time we go and see Elizabeth again. She might be the key to finding a motive from Sakkara."

They all nodded back and decided it would be best to send Ayako and Monk to the hospital with me.

2:37P.M.

I stood outside of the door uncomfortably. Even though Ayako and Monk accompanied me to the hospital, they decided it was wise to wait in the waiting room and let me go inside without any moral support.

'_Some friends.'_

I took a deep breath in and pushed open the door to find Elizabeth reading a book. Her head snapped up in surprise and a smile grew on her face when she recognized me. But the smile did not reach her eyes. As I got closer, I noticed it was pain and sadness. I took a seat next to her and smiled the best I could.

"Hey Elizabeth."

She managed a forced smile as she took my hand as gently as she possibly could. The small smile faded away and I knew that something had happened to her from the last time we were there.

"Mai, I remember."

I bit my bottom lip and nodded my head.

"You remember what happened when you were taken?"

She slowly nodded her head.

"Yes. At first I thought it was a spirit. But spirits don't have a solid body, do they?"

I shook my head.

"No, but if it's strong enough, it can grab you and drag you."

"But I wasn't dragged. I was carried over a shoulder. I remember there was a cloth with something on it. It clouded my mind, and the next thing I knew, I was in the basement."

I leaned forward in my seat, taking note of everything in my mind that would be useful to Naru to report.

"What else, Elizabeth? What else can you remember?"

The blonde looked a little unsure of herself but she struggled to continue.

"I remember familiar faces of a man and a woman, but I can't place names with the faces. They took something of mine."

"What was it?"

And then she looked a little more distraught than ever as she struggled to remember.

"I…I don't know." She confessed sadly and hung her head in defeat. "I just know that there's a great big empty gap somewhere inside of me. I know something's missing, but I don't know what it is."

I closed my eyes as I started to put two things together, but to be sure, I had to confirm my suspicions.

"Would it be possible that it was the Fumio couple that attacked you?"

She grew silent as realization dawned on her. Her eyes grew a little wider at the thought that she had suddenly grasped, and like that, everything came back to her. She looked down at her blankets and tears stained her pretty eyes.

"I-I thought I could trust them. But I guess I should've known something was up when a family of rich people take in strangers as quickly as they took me in."

I grabbed her hand and held it tight.

"We know what was taken." I spoke softly. "And there's really no guarantee that you can get it back. But we can stop them, Elizabeth. Leave that job to us."

She gave a small nod and I decided it was time to report to Naru as soon as possible.

A.N: I swear I am soooo sick and tired of my internet! It has been down for DAYS! Soooo sorry for the late update. And I came back from seeing my grandma and everything. Things right now are getting a little rougher for me. More than it probably should actually. It just seems that bad things happen to really good people. I've relied on you guys a lot and I really truly appreciate everything we've been through, but now, as the days pass on, they're becoming a lot more unpredictable. As some of you are aware of, my best friend's dad was diagnosed with cancer. He was doing really well and everything, but when summer hit, he got worse. And it was only just a week ago from today when he decided it was time to quit his chemo therapy because it's only making him even more sicker. The doctors gave him 2-3 weeks tops but then again anything can happen. If you are the praying kind, please do keep her in your prayers. Or thoughts if you aren't the praying kind. But me being me, I feel hopeless. Like I should do something to change what is going to happen. And there's nothing I can do to make her smile like the way she use to. I hate feeling like this. And writing with you guys makes me happy and I love the relationship we have as a writer and her readers. I love you guys. More than you know it. So this summer is going to take some kind of twist, and I feel really good with the moral support you guys give me. So on a happier note: tell me what you think! I love your feedback more than you know it! And I wanna hear some summer stories as well so P.M. me if you have some really great ones!

Love,

Jazzy and Lee


	11. Important AN

Hello my beautiful fanfictioners. As some of you have may noticed, I missed my usual Sunday update, and I apologize greatly for it. There was a benefit dinner and auction for my friend's dad that I had attended to. As much as we all had prayed and hoped, I received the unfortunate news Tuesday morning that my friend's dad had lost the battle for cancer. Lee and I spent all day with her, trying our best, and right now, I'm kinda taking the time to mourn. My heart has broken in many ways I never thought it could break and honestly, it really hurts. My will to write has dwindled and I'm afraid that if I write, it would really change drastically and I would lose you guys. And honestly, that is the last thing I need is to lose you guys, because I love ya'll too much. Lee and I appreciate all of the support you have given us and my friend Malory. My family itself is going through a lot of problems too. Just a lot of bad things have been happening. We all are really thankful for great people! I don't know when I can write another chapter. It may be days, it may be weeks, though I hope not because that's far too long. But I promised you guys I'd get this story done, and that's what I'll do. I want to end it right. Not horrendously. Thank you all for understanding.

Love forever and ever,

Jazzy


	12. Locked In and Out

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath in. Just because Naru didn't answer his cell phone doesn't mean that Sakkara is sucking the life force out of him already and moving in to take out the others.

'_Stupid thoughts. Just shut up already and come up with a plan.'_

I heard Ayako and Monk arguing off by the car but I ignored them as I searched my phone for Lin's number. It rang a few times before it clicked over to voice mail.

'_Okay, so maybe she is sucking the life force out of them.'_

I told myself over and over again that everything was going to be okay. I took a deep breath in and headed back towards Takigawa and Ayako.

"I can't get a hold of anyone." I said, interrupting their argument.

Both of them stopped and looked at me.

"Mai, there's no service out there. Of course you won't get them."

Crossing my arms, I glared at them.

"That would've been nice if you had mentioned it _before_ I frantically tried to call them."

Ayako shrugged it off and slipped into the passenger side of the car as Monk slipped into the driver's side. I bit my bottom lip and followed suit. I could tell that neither one of them were excited about returning to the mansion.

'_And then again maybe she's not sucking their life force.'_

As we got a lot closer to the mansion, unease grew in the pit of my stomach. Everything on the outside seemed fine, despite the setting sun. That same feeling told me that tonight would be the best night to get out. As soon as the car was parked, I flew towards the doors of the great building, only to find it dark. Not a single light shone through the halls. I felt a chilling breeze blow through the halls and soon the wind grew strong enough to slam the doors shut behind me. I cleared my throat and called out.

"Hello?"

There wasn't an answer to my call. I heard a pounding noise behind me and I jumped, only to realize it was Monk and Ayako, trying to get in the mansion.

"Mai!"

I tried to pull the door open but it didn't budge an inch. I tried to unlock it, but the bolt was stuck and refused to be moved.

"It won't open Monk!"

I heard him sigh in frustration.

"Okay, go find Naru or Martin and we'll look for a way in. Be careful!"

I sped away from the door as quickly as I could and up the stairs. I opened my mouth to call out for either one, but I was quickly cut off when a hand wrapped itself around my waist and my mouth. I let out a muffled scream and began to struggle against my captor. My hands instantly went to the hand around my mouth and I tried to move it.

"Be quiet Mai!" A familiar voice snapped in my ear.

I instantly relaxed as soon as the hands released its' hold on me. I turned around and faced Yasuhara squarely.

"What the hell was that?" I whispered.

Naru put his finger up to his lips and grabbed my hand.

"Follow me and we'll explain it all."

I let him lead me through the dark halls that I wasn't all familiar with, but eventually, we ended up in front of a small door. Yasu knocked lightly on it and it opened up to reveal Martin. He stepped out of the way and I was pulled into the room. The only light was the light from some of the flashlights. I realized that it was our home base. Everyone was sitting down close to each other, talking in hushed voices as Naru approached me.

"Are you okay?"

I nodded my head and looked around the dark room.

"What happened?"

I felt a soft hand rest on my shoulder and I turned to see the sober face of Luella and Madoka.

"To shortly put it, we were attacked by them." Luella spoke softly.

Panic rose in my chest.

"Wait, they _attacked_?"

"Yeah. We managed to get rid of them for a short amount of time." Madoka spoke up. "And because of that, they went back to re-strategize."

"You were lucky Yasu saw the car pull in first." Martin broke in. "Or they would've snatched you up as soon as you walked in."

"But what about Monk and Ayako?" I asked, fearing for them. "They're locked out."

"They'll be okay." Naru spoke up. "They won't be able to put themselves in any danger if they're outside."

The lights flickered on and off as a howl reaped through the silence. I bit my bottom lip as the lights stopped their flickering.

"She's very pissed." Yasu commented.

"I don't think we'll be able to hold her off for another round." John spoke up from behind us. "We need to get out of here."

I glanced around the room and found no easy escape but the small window.

"Have you guys already tried the window?"

"Yeah. It wouldn't budge."

I glared angrily at it and made my way over there. I don't know what made me think I could move it, even though the guys had already tried it. And Yasu was right, the window didn't budge a single centimeter.

"What about busting it?"

"Already tried. We broke things trying to break the window open." Madoka spoke from behind me.

We were silent, thinking of ways to get out of there as quickly as possible, but nothing came to my mind. It was Masako who broke the silence.

"Mai, you can do the nine cuts. It might break to that."

"But we already tried." Naru snapped back.

Masako glared hard at Naru and turned to face him with her hands on her hips.

"They are expecting _you _to try and break the window with your fancy abilities, but they are not expecting Mai at all. That's why they locked Monk and Ayako out. Because they could break through from the inside. Not the outside."

"But there might be a reason as to _why _they let her in anyways."

"It's worth a shot if Mai thinks she can do it." Lin spoke over the two arguing forces.

Naru bit back an angry retort as he knew she was right for once. Letting out a sigh, I felt their eyes rest on me. I bit my bottom lip and took a deep breath in.

"Okay." Sure, it did sound a little reluctant, but they were relying on me.

I felt a large hand clasp onto my shoulder and I was turned around to face the English man. His eyes were soft.

"Mai, you don't have to do it if you don't think you can. There's a possibility it could bounce back and hurt you."

"It's a chance I'm willing to take for you guys."

'_I won't let myself be the damsel in distress anymore.'_ I silently added. Strangely enough, it reassured me as I approached the windows and performed my best nine cuts ever. The window shattered into tiny pieces and a triumphant smile grew on my face.

"Quick, everybody out." Lin ordered.

I stepped off to the side and let everyone evacuate out first. Soon it was just Naru, Martin, Lin and I. Naru's blue eyes snapped over to me.

"Go on Mai."

As I took a step forward a howl filled the silence yet again and the room began to shake. I rushed for the window to get out, but a hand wrapped itself around my waist and pulled me back. I was about to beat my captor until I saw the glass flying back in place to form the window again.

"Oh no."

The door began to rattle as hard as it possibly could and I knew this time, she was coming for Naru. Lin placed himself in front of us, but I stepped out a little bit in front of Naru. No way in hell was she going to get him. But Naru had other plans as he pushed me behind him again and let Martin take my place.

"Mai, you best start chanting that mantra Monk had taught you a long time ago." Martin warned silently.

I nodded my head and placed my hands together in the correct manner and began to silently chant the Buddhist's words. The banging grew louder and wind started blowing harder than ever, trying to break my attention from the mantra, but after closing my eyes, I managed to block it all out. I focused as hard as I could but it didn't keep the evil witch from the room. The door was ripped off its hinges and went flying to the other side of the room. My eyes snapped open after hearing the crashing sound and instantly glanced over to Lin. He had already summoned his shiki; however, Sakkara was batting them away as if they were nothing but pesky flies. They soon disappeared but the Chinese man held his ground. When the lights flickered on, I finally got a good look at Sakkara's current form. She still held her human body, but her eyes were white and glowing even brighter than I had imagined. She pointed a long ghastly finger at Lin.

"Do not fight me."

But Lin chose to ignore her warning as he lashed out again but only to be thrown back against the wall. Martin rushed forwards but only met the same fate Lin had. Naru's grip on me tightened as he backed me up against the wall and kept himself in between me and Sakkara.

"Sakkara this is between only me and you." Naru spoke loudly and clearly.

The woman smirked and tilted her head.

"Not anymore."

The man stepped in beside her, and looked through Naru at me with a sadistic grin plastered on his face. One I hoped we would soon wipe off. I felt Naru's hand get tighter around my wrist before he let me go. As he took a familiar stance, the air grew heavy around us and wind whipped around him. I knew what was coming. They pushed a wrong button.

"No! Don't do it!" I wrapped my arms around his waist. "They want you to get weak enough so it'll be easier to take it from you."

The wind force suddenly died down and Naru looked down at me. I couldn't read the expression in his eyes, but I knew we were gonna have to figure something else out. But we weren't given enough time. Naru was suddenly sent flying away from me and towards a wall. His back collided with the ever-standing force and he fell to the ground in pain. I bit my bottom lip and glared at the approaching enemy. I stood my ground and started to do the Nine cuts again. This time, it was not as effective as I had hoped it to be. I only managed to take a small tiny step back before I was against the wall before he reached out and grabbed me.

"No!"

I lashed out at him with as much strength as I could, hoping I nailed him in the face. But I only hit his chest hard, which didn't seem to affect him much anyways. He rumbled with laughter at my failing attempts to break free. He grabbed me by the wrists and slammed my back against the wall. I felt my head hit it hard and not long after, blackness took over.

A/N: I'm really sorry it took me a while to update guys and I'm super duper happy that you all understand what I went through. It's kinda hard to believe that it's been only a week or two since the funeral and I appreciate the support you all showed me. As for my friend, she's doing really good. Actually, she seems happier because she knows her dad isn't in a lot of pain. But ANYWAYS! On to a happier note: Band practice has started! At first it was all day, but now it's just evening practices. And that also means I'm getting ready to start my final year of high school which is a little scary. But I'll get through it and still keep up with you guys. Lately, the posting rate on the fan fiction site for Ghost Hunt has been dwindling, so I hope to keep you all up in happy spirits with this update! I promise I won't take so long again! Thank you all for being my great friends!

Love,

Jazzy and Lee


	13. Unexpected

_I was running down an endless maze in a stone hallway. There were no doors leading me out at all, but I still pushed forward through the labyrinth, knowing where I was supposed to go._

'_He needs you Mai. Get up!' The all too familiar voice spoke to me, encouraging me on. Even without him, I still pressed on. I found the door that lead to where he was being held._

'_Get up! Now!' The voice shouted at me._

I grumbled and flopped over, trying to block out the voice.

'_Mai! Get up! He needs you.'_

And it dawned on me whose voice I heard. It was Gene's. Then it finally all came back to me. Gasping, I shot up straight from the cold hard ground and looked around, only to find slight darkness and a cold breeze swept over me. I shuddered and brought hands up to my arms to warm myself up. I was practically reliving my dreams. But there was more light to see around me and there was another shape across the room from me, slumped over. I slowly picked myself up off the stone floor and cautiously approached Naru. He was still out, but I had to try to bring him around. I bent over him and called his name out.

"Naru."

He groaned slightly and my heart leapt for joy. I kneeled in front of him and tried to shake him awake.

"Naru come on, get up."

I heard the door creak and my heart skipped a beat. I started shaking him harder.

"Come on Naru, get up now." I whispered a little frantically.

"He's not going to get up for a while."

I turned around to face Sakkara. I narrowed my eyes and instinctively put myself in front of Naru.

"Leave us alone. Release the souls and powers you've kept Sakkara."

She closed the distance between us and placed a cold hand against my cheek. I immediately slapped her hand away before she extracted anything from me.

"Oh, I do love the fighting spirits. You're going to be fun. But you're not the first one on my list."

Her eyes slide over to Naru's barely conscious form.

"No!"

Her cold eyes snapped back over to me angrily and I was sent flying across the room. My back hit the wall hard and I fell to the ground. I groaned and shifted to get up.

"You're just wasting your energy Mai. Do you really want to get up?" Her voice taunted.

I held my hands out again, ready to perform the nine cuts. But she only laughed.

"Again? You cannot have the power to perform a perfect nine cuts on me child."

I bit my bottom lip hard until I tasted the blood. This wasn't going to be easy. I steadied my breath as even as I could. Even if my attempts were futile, I needed to protect him.

'_Gene help me please.'_

And I tried it again. But the results were different. Wind began to pick up and circle around me as I made the cuts.

"Rin pyou tou sha kai jin retsu zai zen!"

Sakkara flew against the wall with each hit and slumped to the floor. The wind died down as I managed to steady myself. I was astounded for a second, but then I remembered the situation we were in. She wouldn't be out of it for long.

Thinking quickly, I raced for Naru and shook him harder.

"Come on Naru! You need to get up!"

He groaned again and his head lolled to one side. Letting out a frustrated sigh, I bent down and draped his arm around my neck.

"Mai?" I heard him mumble a little bit.

"Come on Naru, let's get out of here."

I couldn't hear his response as I pushed towards the door, but it wasn't as hard this time because Naru managed enough strength to help. As I looked back, I noticed white wisps seeping out of her body. I couldn't help but feel relief. The powers she stole were set free.

"She didn't take it, did she?" I asked.

"No. And you?"

"Nope. It's what saved us."

I pushed the door open and stepped out into the barely lit hallway. I looked back and forth, trying to decide which way I should go before I made a decision. And then I saw it. Somehow, we managed up in the front of the house and the door was in view.

"Mai!"

I heard the warning only too late from Naru. Within a blink of an eye, my arm was in a vice-like grip and I was yanked away from Naru and forced onto the wall. A hand found its way to my throat and I felt the fingers that gripped me. The air was quickly leaving me as I was forced to stare into those crazed eyes.

"You took them all away from me!" She whispered irreverently.

I gripped at her hands and tried to pry him away.

"Good. They weren't yours to begin with."

I managed to kick her hard in the stomach. She dropped me and howled in pain as I managed to push her for extra measures. I turned back to Naru, where he was leaning against the wall and helped him to the door. This time, it did open and I made sure Naru was the first to get out and he was intercepted by his parents where he probably thought about collapsing. I was greeted by Monk and Ayako and of course, Yasu.

"Mai! We thought you two would never get out of there!" He cheered.

"We barely did." I muttered and suddenly felt tired.

"How did you do it?"

I shrugged at Ayako's question.

"Where did Fumio-san get off to?"

Monk and Yasu shot each other a bemused look and stifled their giggling. That didn't look good. I looked to Ayako who sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Lin sorted him out."

"Ouch. That sounds painful."

"It looked painful."

And before I knew it, yet again, I was suddenly engulfed in a warm and loving embrace. I was about to protest before another set of arms grabbed me in another hug. It was like I was in a sandwich between Madoka and Luella.

"We're so glad you and Naru came out alive!" Madoka cried and released me. But Luella hung tight onto me.

"I couldn't bear the thought if I had lost both of you." I whispered in my ear and stroked my hair in a motherly way.

I could hear sirens making their way towards the mansion.

"How's Naru?" I whispered.

"Coming around a lot better."

She pushed me out at arms' length and studied my face before Lin came to check on me.

"How are you feeling Mai?"

I felt my eyes droop a little.

"Tired actually."

Then the darkness started to take over. As much as I went through, tonight, I didn't care if I would fell victim to it or not.

"Mai stay with us a little longer." The Chinese man demanded.

Unfortunately, I couldn't obey his command as a sense of weariness washed over me. I closed my eyes and fell into the dreamless slumber.

'_Thank you Mai.'_

A/N: Whaaa! I missed you guys. Really, I did! I'm gonna try to update once a week again and try to get back into the habit! I promise! So far, mine and Lee's senior year is going great actually. I love all of my classes!

Lee: Well, you don't have to be a stupid aid for a stupid counselor.

Me: Yeah, but you get the really cool outdoors class Lee. It could be worse.

Lee: You probably would've stuck yourself in the finger on your first day with the stupid fishing hook. Tehehehe…

Me: ANYWAYS! Lee, what do you have to say? Is there a reason why you wrecked my A/N?

Lee: Oh! Yeah! We love you! :D Although there's some people who we haven't heard from in a while. But hang on! We're almost at the end!

Me: Yeppers, we are. So please do read and review!

Lee: Yeah, she likes it. She's a review whore.

Me: *glares angrily* Lee! What did I say? STOP IT!

Lee: Okay, whatever. So anyways, you guys just drop a line in and say hi! And if you have requests, I'm sure Jazzy doesn't mind taking them either!

Me: I don't. Thanks everyone!

Love,

Jazzy and Lee!


	14. A Happy Ending

The white burned my eyes as I opened them too quickly. I hissed in pain and quickly closed them. I rubbed them hard and opened them slowly this time to give my eyes some time to adjust. I started to move around a little, but found my legs trapped underneath something. My eyes focused and I noted I was in a hospital bed, tucked in tightly. I rubbed my eyes again for good measure and studied the white room.

"Mai, thank Gods you are awake!" I heard the relieved voice of Yasu from the doorway.

I managed to smile at him weakly as he rushed in the room and grabbed me in a hug.

"Hey Yasuhara." Glanced around and didn't see anyone else. "Where are the others?"

"Ah, Naru's parents, Lin and Mori-san are in Naru's room talking about what had happened. Bou-san, Ayako and Masako went out for lunch and I stayed behind. John found time to visit the nearest vending machine that resides on the fourth floor."

"What happened to Sakkara?"

His eyes softened at the mention of the woman's name.

"She wasn't Naru's mother. She took on the presence as her so she could bait him. But after you swiped her of her powers, she threw herself into the ocean. Her partner in crime was arrested when the police got there."

My heart leapt. So there, Naru's mom wasn't a total nut case, because it wasn't Naru's mom. But it left wondering how Naru took it all.

"He's fine." Yasu spoke and caught my eyes, like he knew what I was thinking. "He's actually relieved. The others want to see you, but they're afraid of leaving Naru by himself on a different floor."

I furrowed my eyebrows together.

"Well, what floor are we on?"

Yasu scratched the back of his head while his glasses flashed in the light. I couldn't see his eyes, but I knew they averted.

"We're on the sixth floor in ICU."

I felt my heart skip a little beat. Scratch that, it skipped several beats.

"What?"

I heard a knock and a tall woman entered the room. The white lab coat ruffled around her ankles and a stethoscope resided around her neck. The doctor smiled as Yasu stepped away.

"Miss Taniyama-san, we were getting worried for a bit. But it's nice to see that you're finally coming to."

"What happened?" I asked.

"You're body wore out on you. You pushed yourself way too hard. But now that you're awake, we're gonna see how you do today, and possibly move you to another room for tonight."

"What about my boss? Is he okay?"

The doctor smiled warmly again, but this time, no smile touched her eyes.

"Mr. Shibuya is fine. He's already been moved into another room. I'll let him know you're up so he can talk to you if he wishes to."

She turned and left me and Yasu alone. I shot Yasu a curious look before I caught the familiar glint of trouble in the teen's eyes.

"Naru has been giving that doctor hell ever since he's been up."

"That doesn't surprise me. I bet he's been missing his tea."

Yasu's eyes softened.

"You mean the tea maker, don't you?" I opened my mouth to say something, but he cut me off again. "I guess I should be the one to break the news to Naru instead of the doctor. Hell might ensue. I'll send John your way when I see him, okay?"

I nodded my head and was left alone in the hospital room. But it wasn't long before Madoka and Luella paid me a visit. The two women were very sincere and ready to take me back to England.

It had only been days since the hospital had released me back into the outer world of the work force. And it wasn't even that long before Luella brought me back to England to finish our well deserved vacation. And this time, I found myself sitting on the edge of the lake on the rocks. The gentle breeze pushed and pulled at my long skirt, whipping it around my ankles, but I didn't mind it. I slipped my flip flops off and let my feet rest in the lake. The cool water was relaxing and I hadn't noticed Naru sneaking up sitting down beside me until he spoke.

"You don't need to be out here on your own." Naru spoke.

And naturally, I jumped. Then as his words sunk in, I turned on him.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

His dark orbs bore into mine hard as he considered his words. A smirk appeared on his handsome face as he spoke.

"You're the accident prone, Mai."

I scowled and punched his arm, but he only shakes his head and look out across the ocean. His eyes lose their bright gleam they once held, and I knew he was starting to think hard about something.

"What happened the night you took her powers?"

'_Ah. I knew this conversation would eventually arise.'_

Clearing my throat uncomfortably, I tried to bring the memory back.

"Well, I think I asked for Gene's help and he gave it to me. When I performed the Nine Cuts, something happened." His gaze never left my face as I struggled to remember. "I don't know what it was. Some strange light. Anyways, it relieved her of her powers."

Naru nodded and stared off into the distance, again.

"Thank you."

He said it so quietly that it didn't even sound like he had ever said anything at all.

"What?"

"I said," he turned to face me, and yet again, he had me caught. "Thank you Mai. I would be dead. We both would have been dead if you hadn't been able to successfully perform the Nine Cuts and the mantra. She would have had some other greater power that would possibly destroy herself."

"I'm sorry." I blurted out.

He raised an eyebrow in question.

"Why are you apologizing?"

I averted my eyes down to my hands and twiddled my thumbs together.

"That she lied a horrible lie to you. No one should ever have to go through that."

His eyes did darken a bit as he turned away from me.

"Well, we all should've known."

I bit my bottom lip and glanced back over the lake.

"So what now, Naru?"

He stood up and brushed his dark attire free of dirt before he held a hand out to me. I grabbed it and let him help me up off the ground. And suddenly felt his arms wrap themselves around my waist and my face was suddenly inches away from him.

"We go back to doing I do best, Mai. Work."

I scowled at him as he smirked again. And then the gap between us suddenly closed as our lips met.

A/N: Ah yes, I did end it with a kiss. And I believe it is time for my usual rounds of shout outs. So to help me AGAIN, I'm bringing in Lee. For the umpteenth time."

Lee: HI GUYSH! I misseded you all!

Me: *sigh* Lee, get on with it. Who are we thanking for the moral support?

Lee: Oh! Right! We would love to thank: southern-punk, krisaku, Flamegirl5500, xSapphirexRosesxFanx, aniAngelxx, sweetymai90, mia-chan, FlippingThroughMemories, cameo17, Jade Starlight, sarasaysrawr, Jadeturttle, the ever-so lovely crazylittlecheezer, ClippedWing (HI!), FallenRaindrops. *sigh*

Me: Lazy butt. Carrying on: mytruthaboutlife, Conejo-san, krissy2lip, ShadowedHand (I finished! :P Thanks for sticking around), lil whit, xdreamernumbahfour, TYOr (hmmm… interesting…), BloodyXandra, Akitay…

Lee: *sits on Jazzy* genderless- but straight, Moons-chan, sunniessmiles, twilightangel61090, reveriethinker, Ariana Taniyama, foxyaoi123, Emrald96 (thanks for calling Jazzy's work amazing! It made her smile. A lot. And brag, but she won't admit that.)

Me: *pushes Lee off again* Darn you. Anyways, ToxicShok, Ayjah, weezerz2490, thearistocrat, bigtomato (hahaha, I LOVE your name), KikicrossNya, Tohru78, AND bri! Yeah! Thanks for your support!

Lee: Yeah! It was awesome! Even though Jazzy DID get behind her promised updates…

Me: But I finally finished. With a lot of pushing. It shouldn't have been a long time though on the updates. I just clean forgot so I apologize. I hope this ending was very satisfactory. And don't worry, I am searching for the next story plot. I just can't seem to end it like this, I don't know why. Ideas are definitely welcome! Thank you to everyone who reviewed me, who favorited this story or myself. It honestly was a lot of fun for me! Thanks again everybody!

Love,

Jazzy and the LeeLee.


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